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| Foreword (pdf 110 Ko) |
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| Throughout 2009, we will have been commemorating the four hundredth anniversary of the first observations made by Galileo, this being marked by international celebrations, as part of the International Year of Astronomy, organized at the initiative of the United Nations, and steered, worldwide, by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and UNESCO. |
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| Seeing the invisible: a short account of a grand conquest (pdf 1 Mo) |
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| For more than 2,000 years, astronomers remained ignorant of the lights pervading the cosmos, except, of course, for visible light. There was a good reason for this: most other kinds of radiation are unable to get past the barrier formed by the atmosphere. Bypassing this barrier entailed using suitable instruments: balloons first, then rockets, and ultimately satellites. |
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| I. Astrophysics and the exploration of the Universe (pdf 12,3 Mo) |
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| Just what are the Moon, the Sun, the stars? Why do they move, as time goes by? Were they always there? From such queries, there arose the great accounts of Creation, and cosmogonies. The advances achieved in terms of observational resources – from the naked eye to modern satellites, through Galileo's telescope, and giant telescopes – brought about a transformation, as regards stargazing, in astronomy, and subsequently in astrophysics. |
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| II. Tools to probe the Universe (pdf 6,8 Mo) |
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| How is the mass distribution of stars to be accounted for? How do galaxies end their existence? What is the cause of the acceleration in the expansion of the Universe? In their endeavor to resolve these issues, astrophysicists are developing a new generation of revolutionary telescopes, providing the ability to see further, more precisely, and with a wider field of view than their predecessors. These telescopes, whether ground-based or out in space, will collect light that is to be analyzed, in minutest detail, by instruments that are the embodiment of leading-edge detection technology. Affording as they do the ability to yield very finely detailed images, while carrying out spectrometry of remarkable quality, these highly sophisticated instruments known as "imaging spectrometers" stand as one of CEA's proven areas of excellence. |
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| Institutions and organizations: Who does what? (pdf 190 Ko) |
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| Glossary (pdf 2,7 Mo) |
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| Download free of charge the last version of Acrobat Reader. |
 http://www.adobe.com/fr/products/acrobat/readstep2.html |
