As a follow-up to the Comètes : aux origines des systèmes planétaires (Comets : the origins of planetary systems) exhibition which ended in January 2016 at the Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace, the Paris Observatory has today launched a long-term virtual exhibition entitled « Comètes : des mythes à la réalité » (« Comets : from myth to reality »).
Extraordinary comets, famous comet hunters, ad hoc instrumentation … this virtual exhibition is oriented around the history of these bodies, the first scientific studies on their nature and their paths, how they were represented ; the exhibition includes the recent discoveries made by the Rosetta space probe.
The exhibition includes numerous bibliographic and cinematographic resources, a gallery of pictures as well as various texts on comets in art and literature, of interest not only to teachers but also to the general public wishing to explore comets, whether in the mind or in practice.
Commissariat :
Jaques Lequeux, emeritus astronomer at the Paris Obserrvatory
Laurence Bobis : Director of the Paris Observatory library
An absolute must…
The exhibition Comètes : aux origines des systèmes planétaires lasted until January 2016 at the Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace, under the scientific directorship of the Laboratoire d’Excellence ESEP (Exploration spatiale des environnements planétaires - Space exploration of planetary environments ) and the Paris Observatorys.
It informed the general public about the latest technical progress in space exploration and the recent results in cometary and planetary research, through an overview of the exceptional Rosetta space mission.
For this occasion a splendid Internet site centred on comets was created.