Festival des Étoiles

Polar Auroras in the Spotlight

The 2025 edition of the Festival des Étoiles took place on Saturday, August 2nd and Sunday, August 3rd, 2025, from 4 PM to 1 AM, at the Planète Mars Hubert Reeves observatory. The scientific program was marked by the conference by astrophysicist Jean Lilensten from CNRS, dedicated to polar auroras, accompanied by a demonstration of the Planeterrella, an aurora simulator from the AurorAlpes association.

The public also enjoyed an original astrophysicist-magician show, mini-conferences on orientation in the starry sky and reading star charts, as well as numerous workshops for children aged 7 and up. Night sky observations with telescopes, guided by mediators from CCSTI and volunteers from the Mars Astronomy Club, concluded each evening.

2025 Program

• 4:00 PM: Opening — Educational workshops and observatory tours
• Conference: Jean Lilensten (CNRS) — Polar Auroras
• Demonstration: Planeterrella (aurora simulator) by AurorAlpes
• Show: Astrophysicist-Magician
• Mini-conferences: Orientation in the starry sky and reading star charts
• 10:00 PM - 1:00 AM: Night sky observations with telescopes

• Conference by astrophysicist Jean Lilensten (CNRS) on polar auroras
• Demonstration of the Planeterrella, a Northern Lights simulator
• Astrophysicist-magician show
• Night sky observations guided by experts
• Educational workshops for all ages from 7 years old
• Completely free festival