Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Observatoire de Haute-Provence (OHP) was created in 1936 under the impetus of the CNRS, which was founded by the Popular Front. The site, chosen for the purity of its atmosphere near Forcalquier, began its work in 1937, but the Second World War considerably slowed down its development. Local workers, to avoid the STO, build a symbolic wall while preparing the ground. The first operational telescope, an 80 cm mirror, was installed in 1945 after testing in 1932.

In 1941, the 120 cm telescope (T120), formerly used at the Observatoire de Paris (1875–97), was transferred to the site, allowing the first scientific publications in 1944. The large 1.93 m telescope (T193), launched in 1958, became a key tool: it allowed the discovery of the first exoplanet, 51 Pegasi b, in 1995 by Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2019. The T193 was completed in 1967 by a 1,52 m telescope (T152) specializing in spectroscopy.

Since the 1970s, the OHP has diversified its activities with an atmospheric research station, a pioneer in lidar telemetry under the aegis of Gérard Mégie. In the 2000s, an ecological platform (O3HP) was installed to study Mediterranean oaks, supplementing biodiversity research. The site, partially classified as a historical monument in 2017, also houses a public astronomy centre since 1998, with a planetarium inaugurated in 2022.

The observatory remains a key player in instrumentation, as evidenced by the Providence project (2028–2029): an adaptive 2.50 m telescope for the study of space debris, asteroids and transient phenomena. This project, led by CNRS and ONERA, highlights the scientific and military duality of the site. The OHP is now part of the Pytheas Institute, a federation of astronomical and environmental research in Provence.

Architecturally, the site owes its buildings to architects Paul-Robert Houdin, Jacques Guilbert and Louis Madeline, while the great dome of 1958, the work of the Forges du Creusot and Jean Prouvé, symbolizes the technical innovation of the period. The observatory was headed by figures such as Jean Dufay (1936–1965), Charles Fehrenbach (1966–1983), or more recently Marc Ferrari (since 2023), an adaptive optical specialist.

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