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Since 1873, men have been studying the stars at the Pic du Midi Observatory. Astronomy, the science of celestial bodies, is the Pyrenean site’s field of excellence, along with the study of the sun and planets. Since 1981, the Bernard Lyot telescope has been helping us to learn more about stars and galaxies. Numerous research programs have been carried out at the Pic du Midi. Today, the Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (in French) carries out research in 3 main areas.
- Astrophysics
- Atmospheric sciences
- Geophysics
The technical platform of the Observatoire du Pic du Midi de Bigorre provides technical and logistical support for the scientific experiments of the Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées.
It ensures the smooth running of the observations and higher education TP located at the Pic du Midi. Current experiments cover all the thematic areas of the sciences of the universe, with six astronomical domes in two astronomical observation services (TBL, T1M, T60, LJR, solar corona, space weather) and twelve experiments by OMP laboratories, and other laboratories in the national and international community. The Pic du Midi is one of the two sites hosting the Plate-forme Pyrénéenne d’Observation Atmosphérique (Pyrenean Atmospheric Observation Platform).
The unit employs 20 people with expertise in electronics, electrical engineering and mechanics.
Scientific and technical activities
These are still assigned to the Ministry of Higher Education and managed by the Pic du Midi Observatory at Paul Sabatier University. Its managers have redefined the missions of these activities, refocusing them on promising sectors. This will also enable them to be relocated to smaller premises, with a surface area of 6,000 m2.
Astrophysics
At the Pic du Midi, astrophysics benefits from cutting-edge programs in the space age and the advent of very large telescopes. It takes advantage of the exceptional qualities of the site, providing access to high angular resolution, ultraviolet and near-infrared, the availability and complementarity of instruments whose quality has been maintained, and expertise in several observational techniques. Solar physics, with its leading work on granulation and the solar magnetic field, is preparing the Themis telescope in the Canary Islands. Its coronagraphs, for which a new dome has been built, accompanied the SOHO space mission.
The 1m telescope ( T1M ), dedicated to solar system observations, provides unique planetary tracking with the best planetary images obtained from the ground.
The 2m Bernard Lyot Telescope ( TBL ) remains the most important piece of equipment.It has been completely re-instrumented for imaging and spectroscopy, from ultraviolet to infrared, with the best detectors currently available.Its first-rate scientific results cover most fields of astrophysics, from planetology to cosmology. TBL’s polarimetry equipment is unique in the world, and has already produced some outstanding results on magnetic stars.
Atmospheric physics
This is mainly devoted to monitoring changes in tropospheric ozone concentration, but also to the study of electricity and atmospheric precipitation.This activity is scientifically justified on the scale of several decades.