Marseille Observatory () is an astronomical observatory located in Marseille, France, with a history that goes back to the early 18th century. In its 1877 incarnation, it was the discovery site of a group of galaxies known as Stephan's Quintet, discovered by its director Édouard Stephan. Marseille Observatory is now run as a joint research unit by Aix-Marseille University and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). The old Palais Longchamps facilities are a noted tourist attraction in Marseille, and a planetarium was also added in 2001. One of the noted exhibits is the Foucault glass-mirror telescope, and various items from centuries of astronomical activities. Foucault's telescope is a noted historical example because it was the forerunner of the modern style of big reflecting telescopes which use a minute layer of metal on a figured piece of glass. Before this, the main technology was to make the whole mirror of metal, and it would really be another half-century before silvered glass mirrors really caught on for astronomy. A major change in the 20th century was to shift from using solution to coat the glass with silver to using a vapor deposition process. 18th century The observatory was founded in 1701 in montee des Accoules (this is a location near Vieux Port, Marseille, France). Antoine Laval was the first director. The 1761 Transit of Venus was observed from the Marseilles Observatory. A telescope 6 feet long made by James Short was used for this observation. These observations were conducted by the astronomer Louis Lagrange. In 1789 Jean-Louis Pons began work at Marseille Obs. as a doorkeeper, but he also received lesson in astronomy; by 1801 he discovered his first comet. Pons would become one of the most prolific comet discovers, finding 37 in all a significant portion of all comet discoveries for a quarter of a century. 19th century Astronomer Jean-Félix Adolphe Gambart discovered 16 comets from the old observatory. Another astronomer of Marseilles Observatory was Benjamin Valz. Jean-Louis Pons (1761-1831) discovered his first comet in 1801, and went on to find 37 more in his career much of it at Marsielles Obs. The Comet Pons-Brook was discovered by J.L. Pons in July 1812, however it was not seen again until June 1883. (The next time it was recovered was in 1953.) Some other famous comets discovered by Pons include 7P/Pons–Winnecke, 12P/Pons–Brooks, and 273P/Pons–Gambart, among many others. (see also Comet