Thérèse Encrenaz (née Gounon, born 1946) is a French planetary scientist who "played a leading role in the development of planetology in Europe". Her research concerns extraterrestrial atmospheres, particularly of the planets and comets in the Solar System. She is a research director for the CNRS, emeritus, affiliated with the Paris Observatory.
Encrenaz was born on March 10, 1946. After studies at the, Goddard Institute for Space Studies, University of Paris, and Paris Observatory, she earned a diplôme d'études approfondies in 1968, a doctorat de troisième cycle in 1969, and, in 1975, a doctorat d'état.
As a director of research for the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) at the Paris Observatory, she headed the DESPA and LESIA laboratories, and became vice-president of the observatory, before retiring as research director emeritus.
She was editor-in-chief of the journal Planetary and Space Science from 2002 to 2007.
Encrenaz is the namesake of asteroid 5443 Encrenaz, discovered in 1991.
She is the recipient of the 1998 CNRS Silver Medal, the 2007 Prix Jules Janssen of the Société astronomique de France, the 2010 David Bates Medal of the European Geosciences Union, the 2014 Prix Deslandres of the French Academy of Sciences, and the 2021 Gerard P. Kuiper Prize of the American Astronomical Society.
She was elected to the Academia Europaea in 2002. She was named a chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 2009, and an officier in 2019.
Encrenaz is the author or editor of many books on planetology including:
Encrenaz is married to Pierre Encrenaz, who is also an astronomer.