It is from his French home that the astro-photographer tells us how he came to this practice. “I am a total layman in both astronomy and photography. It was really the confinement that led me to do this. One day, I installed a telescope in the garden where I am, because it is necessary to to occupy I don’t know that astronomy exists and I have never had an interest in astronomy or anything else.he tells us, with a smile in his voice. And it’s by tinkering with his phone that he reaches the stars. He speaks of it with great wonder.
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“I put my phone on the telescope”and he begins to capture stars, stars, and finally a nebula, which he will rename in the name of his mother, Joëlle. “It was afterwards that I really started the research.” The space lover contacts two more experienced astrophotographers, Xavier and Marcel, a Franco-German pair.
From that moment, the professional scientific world opened up to him. Because his two comrades, with their three hundred discoveries, have a vast scientific network. “One day, I embarked on a big project in my mother’s name, to show myself. It was after that that I discovered the emission arc (Editor’s note: or the nebula, which they- even don’t know how to explain). It’s them who saw it in my images. Once you have a foot in it, the contacts are made.”
Astrophotographer, remotely
Today, from his stronghold in eastern France, he controls a telescope which is installed in the Oukaïmeden observatory, in the Moroccan Atlas. “Remotely, I do exactly what I do physically with my equipment. It is in a hangar where the roof slides open and I control with home automation“, he explains to us. The difference between Yann, Marcel and Xavier is that their amateurism is associated with professionalism, therefore. “I am in the research part, following an agreement with the University of Marrakech.” However, he specifies that part of it is available to the public for rental.
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Sharing with curious people seems obvious, as he speaks about it with such wonder. “I think the key is to make it accessible. A lot of it is made by the space itself. The images are incredible, because the objects are magnificent. Every time I share images, there is an immediate “wow” effect. The first approach is natural, everyone is sensitive to beauty. In addition, we have the chance to make discoveries, because yes, amateurs can make discoveries.”
And to add: “It’s the best passion in the world, because it’s mixed“, exclaims Yann. “There is a small learning passage, but then there is a mixture of mechanics, astronomy, mythology, with the names of the constellations and nebulae… There is also an artistic side, because there is no “There are no rules on the images taken. It’s scientific. But it’s also mystical. The objects are so far away, old, maybe they don’t exist anymore.” A practice to discover by going to meet it at the conference, or by trying it yourself. According to him, all you need is a camera, a lens and a clear night.
