Opening Lecture
Tuesday, July 1st / 2:30pm - 3:30PM (Amphitheater Marthe Condat)
This year’s opening lecture will be given by Olivier BERNE, CNRS Research Director at the Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP) in Toulouse.
I am a research director at the CNRS, based at the Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP) in Toulouse. My work focuses on infrared spectroscopy of star- and planet-forming regions. I am leading one of the “Early Release Science” observation programs on the James Webb Space Telescope. I also co-founded, with Tamara Ben Ari, the Labos 1point5 collective, which brings together several hundred scientists in France with the aim of reducing the environmental impact of research. I am also the author of the book “Destination Orion: Voyage aboard the James Webb Space Telescope”, published by Dunod.
In Search of New Worlds
The year is 35,672 A.D.
Aboard their interstellar spacecraft, a crew from a distant planet explores the solar system in search of signs of life. After observing the turbulent clouds of Jupiter and traversing the deserts of Mars, their journey leads them to Earth. Flying low over the planet, they find a hostile world: a scorching, toxic atmosphere renders life impossible. Disheartened, they consider their mission to Earth a failure and prepare to leave the system.
But as they retreat, a sudden glimmer catches their attention near the Moon. Curious, they steer their ship toward the source of this mysterious light. To their great surprise, they discover a drifting object in space: an uninhabited vessel equipped with enormous sails and a golden mirror gleaming in the sunlight. The complex architecture of the structure reveals an advanced technology—relic of a long-lost civilization.
Questions flood the minds of the explorers: what was the purpose of this ship? What keeps it intact? Why has it continued to drift undisturbed? And most importantly, what became of the beings who built it—those enigmatic masters of a prodigious scientific knowledge who left behind this fascinating legacy?
These travelers from the future do not yet realize that they have just uncovered the remains of the James Webb Space Telescope, silent witness to the past existence of humans on planet Earth.
This talk will recount their investigation.