Located in the Pyrenees, near Bagnères de Bigorre, France, the Observatory is perched at an altitude of 2860m and is operated by the University of Toulouse and is historically famous for its planetary, lunar and solar studies.
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It is a mythical place in the history of astronomical observation with a reputation that has long extended beyond its borders. The first buildings were erected in 1873 in order to create a weather station. Then gradually, the observation of the sun and stars became its priority. Visitors to the Pic summit can see almost the entire Pyrenees mountain range at a glance, from the Basque Country to Andorra, and at night, you can even see the lights of Biarritz (93 miles away), Toulouse, and the halos of light in Barcelona (150 miles away). The cable car takes fifteen minutes from the Gare de La Mongie (altitude of 1800m/5,905 ft.) at the bottom of the summit, with a stop at the Gare du Taboulet (altitude of 2341m/7,680 ft.).Pic du Midi Digital Imaging Conference
A French-language digital imaging conference, Les Tic au Pic, will be held at the Pic du Midi on October 4, 2005, one day after the solar eclipse. Part of the conference will address VR panoramic photography and speakers and attendees from the VR community include Tito Dupret of World Heritage Tour and Gilles Vidal.
The Pic du Midi solar eclipse on October 3, 2005 will be shot with a telescope from atop Pic du Midi and these images will be transmitted live to Cité de l'Espace and Gilles Vidal’s website.
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Additionally, Tito Dupret, his wife and Gilles Vidal will shoot a series of panoramas to show how the light is fading away from the Pic du Midi terrace. The eclipse will last 2.5 hours and optimum results will require shooting a VR every 20 minutes. They plan to have the panoramas online one hour later on the official Pic du Midi and Cité de l'Espace websites. All the VRs will be published directly to the l'Université de Tarbes website during the conference.
When: Tuesday, October 4, 2005.
Conference Schedule:
11:00 - Events begin
12:00 - Lunch
13:30-45 - Opening remarks by M. Martin Malvy, Président de la Région Midi-Pyrénées, M. Francois Fortassin, Président du Conseil Général 65, Président du Syndicat mixte Pic du Midi, and M. Francois Jouaillec, Directeur du CNRT Aéronautique et Espace
14:15-15:00 - Series of three concurrent workshops begin:
Workshop #1: What technologies exist to capture the world around us?
Speakers: Peter Von Ballmoos, Centre d’Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements - OMP EADS Astrium, INFOTERRA, Pierre Deny, BOOSTEC, Tito Dupret, Panorama Photographer, creator of WHTour.org
Workshop #2: How to manipulate digital images? Applications which service everybody.
Speakers: Sylvie Roques, Laboratoire Astrophysique, OMP EADS Astrium, INFOTERRA, Luc Robert, REALVIZ, Yvan Lebras, EPSON, Jean-Pierre Madier, MAGELLIUM
Workshop #3: Distribution, Management and Storage of Images
Speakers: EADS Astrium, INFOTERRA, Benoît Pereira Da Silva, IMAGOFABRICA, Dominique Lhopital, STORAGETEK, TDF
15:00 -15:45 - Break
15:45 -17:15 - Continuation of workshops
17:15 - Closing remarks by Dominique Le Queau – Director of L’Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées
18 :00 Descend to the valley
19 :00 Cocktails
Cost: Participation for the day’s events is 35 Euros.
Further information and program details can be found at les Tic au Pic website.
