2024-02-15 04:11:00
More than 70 people including around ten children were present for the “Evening under the stars” organized by the Saint-Orens Nature Environnement association (SONE) and the Quint-Fonsegrives astronomy club (QF-Astro).
Jean-Luc Dupressoire, elected in charge of the energy transition, first recalled that the switching off of public lighting at the end of 2022, well accepted by the majority of the population, allowed substantial savings. No safety impacts were observed.
Benoît Lermuzeaux, from SONE, presented the evening. Then Frédéric Pailler and Cédric Latje, from QF-Astro, presented in a packed room the night sky observed the same evening, with its remarkable objects. This is thanks to the STELLARIUM software and the astonishing photos taken by Cédric: Jupiter, the largest gaseous planet in the solar system; Sirius, the brightest star, 8 light years from Earth; the constellation Orion and its nebula, a nursery of stars; the Crab Nebula, the remains of a star whose explosion was observed in the 11th century; the Pleiades open cluster, made up of around 3,000 stars, including a dozen visible to the naked eye. Clear explanations added to the interest of everyone, young and old.
Friendly break with pancakes and cakes made by members for Candlemas, the festival of light! Then everyone gathered on the Place de la Fraternity around the observation instruments to look at the objects in the celestial vault. The municipality had turned off the public lighting, the sky was clear most of the evening. Around fifteen members of the Club patiently introduced visitors to the observation of the remarkable objects presented, with astronomical binoculars and various telescopes.
A beautiful evening from which the participants left with stars in their eyes…
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