French astronomers are up in arms over a decision to shut down one of the
country鈥檚 observatories and cut back resources at others. They have called
for sweeping changes to the way astronomy programmes are evaluated after an
announcement last month by the National Institute for Science of the
Universe (INSU) of a major reorganisation that would divert money to
ambitious international projects.
Last year, France spent 1.2 billion francs ( 拢150 million) on
astronomy, of which about 65 million francs went on its national
observatories.
At his first news conference, research minister Francois Fillon questioned
the INSU decision. He said he was 鈥榙istressed鈥� by the plan to close the
Midi-Pyrenees Observatory by 1988. The observatory, with its 2-metre
telescope, is at France鈥檚 best site, the Pic-du-Midi, 2800 metres above sea
level in the Pyrenees. It is accessible only by cable car. Fillon said the
whole issue will be re-examined 鈥榯o see whether a more satisfying solution
can be found鈥�.
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The INSU also questioned the running of France鈥檚 three other observatories.
It raised the possibility of transforming the radio observatory at Nancay,
about 200 kilometres south of Paris, into a European centre by the turn of
the century, and scheduled staff cuts at the Haute Provence Observatory
near Marseilles. The INSU has also reduced the budget of the Cote d鈥橝zur
Observatory near Nice, putting its future into doubt. This observatory will
soon to be the only place where the distance between Earth and the Moon is
regularly measured to within a few centimetres.
The INSU based its decision largely on recommendations made by a panel of
French experts and an audit of the sites carried out by three foreign
scientists. The audit found that scientific results from the telescopes in
Haute Provence surpassed those from the Pic-du-Midi, which it says would
need costly improvements to remain useful in the future.
The directors of the observatories are challenging the qualifications of the
experts and the auditors to make recommendations. The INSU already has its
own scientific committees as does the CNRS, the national research
organisation and the institute鈥檚 parent body.
