Observatoire du Pic du Midi de Bigorre / Observatory Pic du Midi (Hautes-Pyrénées, France) - Astronomical Observatories on Waymarking.com

Construction of the Pic du Midi Observatory (In French: Observatoire du Pic du Midi de Bigorre) began in 1878, and the 8 meter dome was completed in 1908. It housed a mechanical equatorial reflector. In 1946 Mr. Gentilli funded a dome and 60 cm, and in 1958 a spectrograph was installed. A 106-centimetre (42-inch) telescope was installed in 1963 funded by NASA, and was used to take detailed photographs of the surface of the Moon in preparation for the Apollo missions. A new 2 meter telescope, known as the Bernard Lyot Telescope was placed at the observatory in 1980 on top of 28 meter column built off to the side to avoid wind turbulence affecting the seeing of the other telescopes. It is the largest telescope in France.

The observatory also has a coronograph, which is used to study the solar corona. A 60-centimetre telescope (the Gentilly's T60 telescope) is also implemented at the top of the Pic du Midi. Since 1982 this T60 is dedicated to amateur astronomy and managed by a group of amateurs, called association T60.

There are currently at the top:

The 55 cm telescope (Robley Dome)

The 60 cm telescope (T60 Dome, welcoming amateur astronomers via the Association T60)

The 106 cm telescope (Gentilli Dome) dedicated to the observations of the solar system)

The 2 meter telescope or Bernard Lyot Telescope (used with a new generation stellar spectropolarimetre)

The coronograph HACO-CLIMSO (study of the solar corona)

The bezel Jean Rösch (study of the solar surface)

The Charvin dome, having sheltered a coronometre photoelectric (study of the Sun)

The Baillaud dome, reassigned to the museum in 2000 and houses a model to scale 1:1's coronograph)

Observatory Purpose: Research Optical / Infrared Telescopes?: Yes Radio Telescopes?: No Solar Telescopes?: Yes Open to the Public?: Yes Is this a Club Observatory?: No Public Viewing Allowed?: Yes Active Observatory?: Active Number of Telescopes or Antennas: 6 to 10 Site URL: [Web Link] Year Dedicated or Opened: 1908 Altitude (meters): 2877

Visit Instructions:
Note the time of day of your visit, and your own photo of your favorite part of the observatory. This might be the view from the observatory, picture of your favorite building or favorite exhibit. (Be mindful of flash photography rules!)

If you participated in an observing session, let everyone know what you saw!

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   03/02/2015 sara et gege visited it 06/27/2014 lulu_et_compagnie visited it 08/14/2013 09Naturel visited it

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