The Soul and the Heart, a night of astronomy in Lozère

Astrophotographer Christian Bertincourt takes us on a new adventure. This time, head for Lozère and its dark nights.

Inky sky in Lozère:

Preparing for an evening of astronomical observing is an adventure in itself, a ritual almost as fascinating as the observing itself. Every detail counts, because the night sky is only revealed to the most attentive“. Thus begins the new odyssey that Christian Bertincourt offers us. This astrophotographer from had already told us in the spring of 2024 about his hunt for comet 12P/Pons-Brooks. This time, it takes us to the constellation of Cassiopeia, 6,000 light years away:

He immortalized the nebulae of the Soul and the Heart. These are IC 1848 and IC 1805 (IC for Index Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Starsthe first version of which appeared in 1895). These emission nebulae radiate mainly in excited hydrogen, hence the need to photograph them with filters. This is what Christian Bertincourt did with his astronomical telescope. To escape the light pollution of the Lyon region, the astrophotographer spent the night near a mid-mountain pass in Lozère. A new journey full of poetry that I invite you to discover on his blog.

About Cassiopeia:

The constellation Cassiopeia has the characteristic shape of a “W”. Her name is that of a queen of Ethiopia from Greek mythology, wife of Cepheus and mother of Andromeda. This constellation has the particularity of being observable all year round. It is said to be circumpolar in our latitudes, because it never passes below the horizon. With its neighbors Pegasus and Perseus, it is the subject of a lovely celestial hike proposed by Stelvision:

The constellation is best known for having hosted a famous supernova, SN 1572. It was observed on November 11, 1572 by the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe. Imagine: it was then even brighter than Venus! This SN is located near the star Caph (Beta Cassiopeiae), which marks the right end of the “W”.

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