Virelles: stars in their eyes

The deep sky

Although only modest-sized telescopes are available for these observation evenings, these already allow the public to discover the sky far beyond the stars. David Charlier thus directed his objective towards M13,“which is also called Great Cluster of Hercules”. Like the other objects listed in the Messier catalog, M13 is an astronomical object different from stars, like nebulae or galaxies, visible from Earth. However, it itself contains more than 100,000 stars. Patrice Wuine invites you to discover important planets in our solar system: ” We were lucky enough to observe Jupiter and Saturn, whose rings we might even see.”In the circuit offered to the visitor, Philippe Morel offered images recorded via his EV-Scope, a device that allows you to film and broadcast images of the sky live on screen: ” This technology, which superimposes images every four minutes, makes it possible to observe objects such as star-forming nebulae, such as that of the Dumbbell“.

In an atmosphere inviting to serenity, as much as in the splendid setting of the Aquascope, the very many visitors were able to discover the sky as they had never seen it, thanks to the experience and the pleasure of sharing CNABH.

The Nights of the Shooting Stars sounded a bit like the high point of the exhibition proposed by Jean-Claude Dresse since last April and the inauguration of the sundial of the Blaimont viaduct. We must hurry to discover this one: it will be dismantled beyond August 21st.

Beyond the two evenings dedicated to observation, the lectures by Benoît Goffin, on shooting stars, and by Philippe Morel the following day were a great success. Philippe Morel, aurora borealis hunter, illustrated his remarks with images collected during a recent trip to northern Norway. In the followingnoon, an activity delighted sundial enthusiasts, in particular with the presentation of original works by John Gueulette, explained live by the artist.