• The Alpes Azur Mercantour territory was officially labeled at the beginning of 2020 "International Dark Sky Reserve".

    The region offers particular spaces to observe the space.

  • L'Astrorama, on the Eze pass, is part of a privileged place, with entertainment all year round.

    For 30 years, the Parsec association has been offering on this site to “popularize the sciences of astronomy for all audiences.

    "

  • This place is complemented by the more museographic offer of the Côte d'Azur Observatory (OCA).

    This Friday, the OCA is also inaugurating the Universarium, “a place of transmission and exchange of scientific culture”.

Even if the Azureans see the same sky as New Yorkers or Lille, they can, unlike some other regions of the world, observe it (almost) all year round in the same way.

"By being well covered in winter, it is also much clearer during this season," adds Sophie Berger, director of the Parsec association, which has been offering scientific mediation around workshops for more than thirty years, smiling. .

"You still have to be careful of the unpleasant surprises of the sea mists on days of very good weather", she explains.

Every weekend of the year, in the park of the Grande Corniche (Alpes-Maritimes), the Astrorama site of this association welcomes dozens of people to help them discover astronomy and understand the universe.

“The goal is to make science accessible to everyone,” says the director.

And to remind the audience of fundamental elements, children and parents alike ”.

She cites, for example, the stars used as geographical markers for centuries or our measurement of time, to calculate a day, a month or a year, is "modeled on astronomy".

Three types of parties

Perched at the top of the Eze pass, evening participants are protected from light pollution. A perfect spot to contemplate the stars and also a way to show the importance of the night. “Through the workshops, we try to raise awareness of the consequences that a night-free sky can have,” says Sophie Berger. Nocturnal species are disappearing. We also often come to the same conclusion, regardless of the stakeholders involved, the Earth is the only habitable planet, it must then be preserved as much as possible. "

Thus, three kinds of evenings are offered by the Parsec association. “Open sky” evenings to “increase one's scientific knowledge”, for example, to understand the phenomenon of gravitation or the principle of rocket launching. During these evenings, participants also learn to observe the sky with the naked eye and with a telescope. At the Astrorama, a planetarium is available for various activities.

The "initiation to observation" invite amateur astronomers to learn, among other things, to locate the different constellations in the sky.

The “star shows”, in the same format as “open sky”, have the specificity of highlighting a particular theme.

For this event, researchers, astrophysicists or even storytellers are invited to talk about the subject.

A complete offer on the Côte d'Azur

The Alpes Azur Mercantour territory was officially labeled at the beginning of 2020 "International Dark Sky Reserve" (RICE) by the International Dark-Sky Association, located in the United States.

There are also places other than the Eze pass to have stars in your eyes.

On Mont Gros, at the Nice observatory, which is part of the Côte d'Azur Observatory (OCA) group, it is a more “museographic” section, which completes a visit to the Astrorama ”, indicates Sophie Shepherd.

This Friday will also be inaugurated the Universarium, "a place of transmission and exchange of scientific culture" in the Grand Equatorial building.

The Caussols astronomical observatory, on the Calern plateau, is also an OCA observation site.

It is also home to many scientific research works such as laser telemetry, time transfer or even solar diameter measurement and tsunami prevention.

The site is open to the public during the summer.

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Look up!

The Alpes Azur Mercantour area labeled France's International Dark Sky Reserve

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