Stargazing evening

Stargazing under the Hautes-Alpes sky

Stargazing with telescopes

Thanks to our Newtonian telescopes (Dobson 254/1200 and 114/910), we can show you planets like Saturn and its rings or Jupiter with its four main moons, as well as deep-sky objects such as galaxies, globular clusters, and nebulae...
Please note: we don’t pretend to be a living encyclopedia! We aren’t experts, but we would love to share our passion and knowledge with you.

What to bring or is avoid

To enjoy a wonderful evening under the celestial vault, it’s best to come well prepared:
– Don’t take a big flashlight unless you want to go back to the apartment safely. It’s better to choose a red LED light to preserve your night vision (it takes about 30 min to get it)
– Dress in warm clothes ! Mountains are cold at night even if it feels warm during the day. Fleeces and warm socks are highly recommended ;-)

Warning: Avoid full moon nights

On full moon nights, nebulae and galaxies are almost impossible to see. Observations will be limited to double stars, globular clusters, open clusters, and very bright objects.

Examples of objects to observe

**Exemple d’observations possibles / stargazing exemples**

Planetary

Solar System objects are easier to observe due to their higher brightness. We will focus particularly on:
– Saturn and its rings
– Jupiter and its satellites
– The moon !

Deep sky

Deep-sky objects are very faint and require high sky quality.
– The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) and its two satellite galaxies (M32 and M110)
– Smaller yet stunning galaxies, such as the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) dancing with its neighbor NGC 5195. The Leo Triplet in spring is also a highlight, allowing you to see 3 galaxies at once through the eyepiece
– Famous globular clusters like the Hercules Cluster (M13)
– Remarkable open clusters like the Seven Sisters / Pleiades (M45)
– Nebulae: Orion (M42 in winter) and neighboring M43, the Lagoon Nebula (M8) to the south, the Omega Nebula (M17), or the Dumblell Nebula (M27)
– The Ring Nebula in Lyra (M57)
– Double stars are also great targets when sky conditions are less than ideal.
And this list is far from exhaustive!