Observatoire de Paris - PSL - Centre de recherche en astronomie et astrophysique

Understanding the roundness of the Earth using a virtual reality headset app

Frederique Auffret — 2026-09-04T16:03:59Z

Since 28 July 2026, the Space Department of the Time-Space Laboratory at the Paris Observatory – PSL invites you to discover – through the app it has developed for virtual reality headsets, which can be downloaded free of charge from the Meta platform – how the scholars of antiquity came to understand the roundness of the Earth in their time.
We know that many scholars and philosophers of antiquity were convinced that the Earth is round. How could they have been so sure without access to (…)

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First light for the VLT's MOONS spectrograph in Chile

Frederique Auffret — 2026-09-03T14:58:10Z

Le spectrographe MOONS vient de franchir avec succès une étape majeure : ses premières observations, réalisées cet été au Very Large Telescope (VLT) de l'ESO au Chili, démontrent déjà les performances exceptionnelles de cet instrument de nouvelle génération. Annoncé par l'ESO le 3 septembre 2026, ce résultat vient couronner plus de 14 années de travail des équipes de l'Observatoire de Paris - PSL et du CNRS au sein d'un ambitieux consortium international.
MOONS (Multi-Object Optical and (…)

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The fastest star in the Milky Way orbits so close to our supermassive black hole that it feels its rotation

Frederique Auffret — 2026-09-01T17:49:22Z

Thanks to the performance of GRAVITY+, the VLTI instrument in Chile, and new analytical methods developed in part at the Paris Observatory – PSL, an international team has discovered S301, a star skimming past Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the heart of our Galaxy, at a record speed of nearly 25,000 km/s, approaching it at a distance comparable to that between the Sun and Saturn. This discovery is reported in an article in the journal Nature, published on 19 August 2026. (…)

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Contribute to the advancement of research on the Universe

Michel Magnan — 2026-08-18T13:27:59Z

By supporting the Observatoire de Paris-PSL through the taxe d'apprentissage, you are playing an active role in the development of astronomical research and the training of future generations of scientists and engineers. Your contribution enables us to develop modern teaching tools and infrastructures adapted to the astrophysics professions of tomorrow.
Observatoire de Paris-PSL and its Doctoral School in a few words The Observatoire de Paris - PSL is a unique research establishment, in (…)

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Visual proof: Betelgeuse does have a companion star

FICHET Fabien — 2026-07-28T12:37:45Z

An international team led by an astronomer from Paris Observatory – PSL, involving scientists from the CNRS, Université Grenoble Alpes and the Côte d'Azur Observatory, provides the most convincing evidence to date that Betelgeuse is not a solitary star. Using observations from the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT), the researchers obtained the most significant image ever acquired of its companion star, putting an end to nearly a century of questioning. The (…)

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Discovery of a Third Planet Orbiting the Star β Pictoris

Frederique Auffret — 2026-07-20T11:20:00Z

Using ESO's VLT and the James Webb Space Telescope, an international team—including researchers from the Paris Observatory - PSL—has achieved the feat of directly imaging β Pictoris d. This planet is the faintest ever imaged from Earth. Its discovery is the subject of a paper to be published shortly in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

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The Observatoire de Paris - PSL is participating in the Journées européennes du patrimoine 2026

Nicolas Leste-lasserre — 2026-07-17T12:24:12Z

On the occasion of the European Heritage Days, the Paris Observatory – PSL is opening the doors of its two sites in the Paris region in turn. On Saturday, September 19, visitors are invited to Meudon; on Sunday, September 20, it will be the Paris site's turn to welcome the public. At both Meudon and Paris, visits are free and accessible by reservation only. On Sunday, September 20, the Nançay Radio Astronomy Observatory, affiliated with the Paris Observatory, will also open its doors to the (…)

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An unknown spectral signature detected on the surfaces of Titan and Pluto

Frederique Auffret — 2026-07-09T15:07:01Z

An international team led by two researchers from the Paris Observatory - PSL has identified a mysterious spectral signature on the surfaces of Titan and Pluto using observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Pre-published in *Astronomy & Astrophysics* on 1 July 2026, this discovery could lead to a better understanding of the chemistry in nitrogen- and methane-rich environments in the outer Solar System.

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Paris Observatory joins Asteroids2029, the global initiative for the United Nations International Year of Asteroid Awareness and Planetary Defence

FICHET Fabien — 2026-07-03T15:22:53Z

On the weekend of June 27, Damya Souami, Research Scientist at LIRA, represented Paris Observatory at an international meeting held in Luxembourg by the Asteroid Foundation. She met with representatives from 25 countries as well as envoys from ESA, JAXA, and NASA, gathered to prepare for the United Nations International Year of Asteroid Awareness and Planetary Defence.
This International Year, named Asteroids2029, builds on the exceptionally close approach of the asteroid Apophis in April (…)

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A system of at least six exoplanets revealed after ten years of observations

Frederique Auffret — 2026-07-03T15:05:59Z

An international team led by Salomé Grouffal (Aix-Marseille University and Grenoble Alpes University), including members of the LTE, spent ten years studying an exceptional planetary system comprising at least six planets with long orbital periods, the outermost of which reaches as far as Mars's orbit. Such a rare system offers a new window into understanding the diversity of planetary systems.

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