- March 12, 2025 - Planétarium : Experience
I still remember December 1984 as though it were yesterday. That year, at Christmas, I opened Hubert Reeves’ book Patience dans l’azur for the first time. I recall that moment, when I found myself immersed in the Universe. When, through the words and poetry in his writing, I had the sense of understanding something much bigger than me, much bigger than my family unit, than my country, than my Earth, than my solar system.
Hubert Reeves’ words resonated in my head, shaking up my neurons and rattling my intellect. It was love at first sight, both literary and scientific. Even if I didn’t completely understand everything I read, I was transported to the history of the Universe, like a spectator in a planetarium who sees the sequence of events unfold before his eyes from the formation of the very first elements to the appearance of life on Earth. I had the impression of being a scholar. I wanted to become The Scholar in my own right, from the towering heights of my 12 years. So I decided I’d try to be like Hubert. I wanted to think about the Universe, understand it, and above all explain it to others.
Towards a career as an astrophysicist
To become an astrophysicist, I had to head off to meet my role model, and travel to Québec. In hindsight it was a daring thing to do, but mostly it was ill-informed. Because although Hubert Reeves was a Quebecer, he didn’t officially work in Montréal: in the early 1990s he was already established as research director at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) in Orsay, France. Of course he maintained links with Montréal and with Québec, coming back to visit now and then, but he hadn’t lived here for a long time – something I wasn’t aware of back then.
In company with that motivation, my passion for amateur astronomy was growing. As had been the case with Hubert, observation of the stars and the beauties of the celestial vault heightened my desire to understand the Universe that much more. For me, understanding astronomical phenomena was important, but what was fundamental was making it easier to obtain the images and scientific data needed to study them. From that point on, I knew that becoming a specialist in the construction of astronomic instruments was the path to follow. All the more so in that the path led directly to Montréal, renowned in that particular field.
On the first day of my master’s at Université de Montréal, in 1997, there I was in my office right next door to Hubert Reeves’, the door to which was marked with his name. I was proud to be there. Me, a little provincial guy from Marseilles, with MY office close to his! But reality caught up with me. Hubert spent the bulk of his time at Malicorne, and only occasionally came back to Montréal to spend time with family or give some lectures. I never got to meet him and tell him that he’d been my role model.
But it didn’t much matter. I had the office next to his. And his books, that now I could understand. I could even explain them to a degree, and then more and more fully. It was Hubert who transformed me. It was Hubert who allowed me to surpass myself. And that office door wasn’t an end in itself: it marked my entrance into the world of Astrophysics with a capital A. A wonderful boost that would later propel me to Espace pour la vie, where I became director of the Planétarium. A museum where I can finally do astronomy while at the same time educating the public and sharing my passion with a team that admires Hubert’s legacy every bit as much as I do.
An exhibition to pay tribute
It’s only natural, then, that the entire Planétarium team wanted to pay tribute to this exceptional astrophysicist. With the invaluable support of Hubert Reeves’ family, we decided to commemorate his memory by showcasing his words and writings in the exhibit Hubert Reeves between the lines.
This exhibition is something we’re proud of. It reveals the journey not just of an impassioned scientist, but of a humanist and committed environmentalist as well. It’s an invitation to slow down and appreciate the beauty of the world – just as Hubert Reeves did.
