Serge Brunier (born 1958 in Paris) is a French photographer, reporter, and writer who has specialized in popular depictions of astronomical subjects.
Work and Target
Brunier works together with the magazine
Science et Vie and is a columnist of the radio station
France Info. He has written a large number of illustrated works regarding astronomy.
He campaigns for an exploration of the
Solar System
The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...
through unmanned
spacecraft
A spacecraft is a vehicle that is designed spaceflight, to fly and operate in outer space. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including Telecommunications, communications, Earth observation satellite, Earth observation, Weather s ...
, but fights against
crewed spaceflight
Human spaceflight (also referred to as manned spaceflight or crewed spaceflight) is spaceflight with a crew or passengers aboard a spacecraft, often with the spacecraft being operated directly by the onboard human crew. Spacecraft can also be ...
.
In his illustrated book ''Solar System Voyage'', he describes the situations on the
planet
A planet is a large, Hydrostatic equilibrium, rounded Astronomical object, astronomical body that is generally required to be in orbit around a star, stellar remnant, or brown dwarf, and is not one itself. The Solar System has eight planets b ...
s, and how a hypothetical voyager would experience them.
Brunier created a panoramic photograph of the
Milky Way
The Milky Way or Milky Way Galaxy is the galaxy that includes the Solar System, with the name describing the #Appearance, galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars in other arms of the galax ...
in the
Atacama desert over two years; it was shown at his first exposition in the Monte Carlo Casino in 2006, and in 2007 at the Palais de la Découverte in Paris with its one hundred million pixels fit onto 144 square meters.
The International Astronomical Union has named the
asteroid 10943 after Brunier in recognition of his services in the advancement of science.
''The Concise Atlas of the Stars''
Published in 2005 at
Firefly Books Ltd., Brunier's ''Concise Atlas of the Stars'' helps to identify specific stars,
nebula
A nebula (; or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral, or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regions, such as in the Pillars of Creation in ...
s, and
galaxies
A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, and dark matter bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar Sys ...
by large photographs and transparent overlays, in particular of the most important constellations. It informs about location,
luminosity
Luminosity is an absolute measure of radiated electromagnetic radiation, electromagnetic energy per unit time, and is synonymous with the radiant power emitted by a light-emitting object. In astronomy, luminosity is the total amount of electroma ...
, and dimensions as well as about when a specific object of the night sky can best be observed.
[The Concise Atlas of the Stars by Serge Brunier]
'' Waterstone's'', retrieved 22 June 2011
Decorations
* 1986
Prix Montyon (for ''Architecture de l'Univers'')
* 1994 Henri Rey Prize (through the
Societé Astronomique de France)
* 1997 French prize for the best astronomical book of the year
* 2007 French prize for the best astronomical book of the year
Works
* ''Nébuleuses et galaxies, atlas du ciel profond''. Dunod, 1981
* ''Les Planètes''. Bordas, Paris 1982 (with
André de Cayeux)
* ''Architecture de l'Univers''. Bordas, Paris 1985
* ''Astronomie du ciel profond''. Dunod, 1988
* ''Éclipses – Les rendez-vous célestes''. Bordas, Paris 1999 (with
Jean-Pierre Luminet
Jean-Pierre Luminet (born 3 June 1951) is a French astrophysicist, specializing in black holes and cosmology. He is an emeritus research director at the CNRS ( Centre national de la recherche scientifique). Luminet is a member of the Laboratoir ...
)
* ''Voyage dans le système solaire''. Bordas, Paris 2000
* ''Le grand atlas des étoiles''. Bordas, Paris 2001
* ''Les grands observatoires du monde''. Bordas, Paris 2002 (with
Anne-Marie Lagrange)
* ''Le grand atlas de la Lune''.
Éditions Larousse
Éditions Larousse () is a French publishing house specialising in reference works such as dictionaries. It was founded by Pierre Larousse, and for some time was known also as Librarie Larousse; its best-known work is the '' Petit Larousse'' sin ...
, Paris 2004 (with
Thierry Legault)
* ''Atacama – Désert d'altitude''. Nathan, Paris 2004
* ''Observer Mars''. Éditions Larousse, Paris 2005
* ''Impasse de l'espace – À quoi servent les astronautes''.
Éditions du Seuil
Éditions du Seuil (), also known as Le Seuil, is a French publishing house established in 1935 by Catholic intellectual Jean Plaquevent (1901–1965), and currently owned by La Martinière Groupe. It owes its name to this goal "The ''seuil'' (th ...
, 2006
* ''Voyage dans l'infini du ciel étoilé''. Nathan, Paris 2006
In English
* ''Solar System Voyage.'' Cambridge University Press
* ''The Great Atlas of the Stars.'' (2001)
* ''The Concise Atlas of the Stars.'' (2005)
* ''New Atlas of the Moon.'' (with
Thierry Legault)
* ''Great Observatories of the World.'' (with
Anne-Marie Lagrange)
* ''Glorious Eclipses: Their Past, Present, and Future.'' Cambridge University Press (with Jean-Pierre Luminet, Storm Dunlop)
* ''Space Odyssey. The First Forty Years of Space Exploration.''
* ''Majestic Universe. Views from Here to Infinity.'' Cambridge University Press
References
External links
Brunier`s Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brunier, Serge
Winners of the Prix Broquette-Gonin (literature)
Astrophotographers
French photographers
Living people
1958 births
Photographers from Paris