During the annual general meeting, Gérard Chouteau, president of the Astro Center association, recalled the organization of the various events in 2022: “First, we welcomed twenty-seven new members and we are now eighty. members. Then, our specialists continue their activities for the photo of the sky, the observation of stars and planets, in particular with spectroscopy, which makes it possible to determine the nature of a star by the decomposition of light. »
Very popular with schools
These people are able to look at stars with observation devices or telescopes at a distance of fifty to a few thousand light-years: “They offer a theoretical initiation every week at the Maison des associations for new members, the Saturday followingnoon, and constellation viewing sessions on Friday evening. Eventually, they will be autonomous with their own equipment,” confirms the president.
Astro Center volunteers are in high demand by schools, associations and local authorities to explain astronomy: “We intervened eighteen times in 2022 for 1,100 participants. In addition, we organize the Nuit des étoiles and on the moon once more, which bring together more than 2,000 people. On this occasion, with an association, we created a model representing the Big Dipper,” notes Gérard Chouteau. For 2023, the association plans to renew all these events: “And to facilitate observation of the sky, we have purchased new equipment. »
