One night at the observatory of the Pic du Midi in the Pyrénées.
20 January 2025 to 23 January 2025
After two years of waiting and one cancellation last fall due to the weather, it was finally time to spend a night to visit the observatory of the Pic du Midi, in the Pyrénénés!
The view from the col d'Aspin never disappoints.
As the weather promised a very clear upcoming night, it was time to hike to the top of the Tourmalet pass, or at least while the snow-covered road was still practical by foot.
The daylight was progressively dimming, revealing an amazing night sky.
The next day, we took the lift to the summit of the Pic du Midi. We were welcomed and introduced to our rooms and then given free time to wander around the installations.
Unfortunately, the sky was still very cloudy. It was very unlikely we would be able to use a telescope to watch the stars...
The first activity was a guided visit of the museum explaining various physics phenomenas, how and why some people decided to put telescopes on this summit, and finally the pretty cool telescopes themselves.
The day was progressively fading into the night and its amazing sunset colors.
The next morning, we woke up to observe the sunrise...
We also visited the world biggest coronograph, still under testing but which will hopefully be active later this year.
The rest of the day was free and we were allowed to take the lift any time.
Spending a night at the summit of the Pic du Midi was a long-awaited dream, especially after hiking to the summit by foot a few years ago and spending a unforgettable night alone at the top. Unfortunately, this time the weather was too cloudy to watch the stars properly. Luckily enough, we were able to have an awesome skywatch session the night before at the col du Tourmalet!
