SIRENE ASTRONOMY OBSERVATORY

What if you're going to observe a former military strategic site? This is what the SIRENE observatory (for silo for Nuits Etoilés) has installed instead of an old nuclear missile launch base! Huge advantage of location: for decades and the Cold War era, the region had become a real no man's land, with a ban on urbanization. For heaven's sake, the immediate consequence of such restrictions is the absence of light pollution on the many hectares of the plateau on which SIRENE is located, at 1,100 m altitude. The observatory is located exactly between Lagarde-d 'Apt and Saint-Christol along the D 34. If we come from Sault, we quickly realize that there are not many souls in the sector; and once arrived at the observatory, the eyes are kept in front of the show offered, halfway between classical observatory with its cupola and its shelters for various telescopes, and a militarized zone with its bunkerized buildings and structures! No doubt, the army was in the corner! SIRENE has become a great place for amateur astronomy over the decades… First because some beautiful instruments flowed on the zone, including a 620 mm telescope (accessible to people with reduced mobility) in which planetary observations could be made to fall to the topple! One evening in the particularly quiet atmosphere, the images of Jupiter or Saturn, ultra detailed and of extreme beauty, thus give the impression of seeing the two planets as if we were in space and nearby. Then, because many amateurs come to observe or leave their equipment to the site to enjoy the qualities of the site. It's even who robotizes their telescope to fly it remotely from home (or how to make astronomy in slippers from its room or lounge!).

SIRENE offers a variety of services for pass observers (come to 2 at least, only on reservation). The rates are quite high in absolute terms, but the 4 hours we spend on the spot are truly exceptional, especially if the quality of the sky is part of the game. One last advice: The nights are fresh or very cold up there! In winter, it is imperative to equip you very warmly or to turn your beautiful night of observations into a succession of small, really painful contraries (feet and hands frozen in particular).