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Adeline Benedicte Christian The Veillet's family Dominique Eleonore Florian |
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Adeline Benedicte Christian The Veillet's family Dominique Eleonore Florian |
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Aloha !...
I arrived from Observatoire de la Cote d'Azur as a French resident astronomer
with the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope
Corporation in mid-September 1996.
On August 1, 1999, I became CFHT Senior Resident Astronomer. I am currently
the CFHT Executive Director.
| I have been for quite a few years the Project Manager / Project Scientist of MegaPrime the new generation CFHT wide field imaging. MegaPrime is coming close to completion, and you should pay a visit to its web page for the most recent news on the instrument... |
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My scientific activities, using the time left by the other duties (not too much, and it's improving!...), are on two main topics:
Astrometry/Dynamics of small Solar System bodies (NEAs,
TNOs, comets...)
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I am using D nights and allocated time for the recovery of asteroids
and comets not observed for a long time, and faint enough to be difficult
targets for the various telescopes used in the asteroid detection programs.
MOS in imaging mode, UH8k, then CFH12K and soon MegaCam are good detectors
for this kind of program. Though they are a bit outdated, you can visit
the pages on the Near Earth Asteroids
and
Trans-Neptunian Objects observations
made for this program.
Among some recent work, I discoverd the firt binary TNO (after the pair Pluto/Charon). Have a look here for more information, and stay tuned!... I also participated in a study of 2002 AA29, an interesting NEA which loops along the Earth's orbit, but reverses direction when it approaches our planet from either side. Look at an animation built from CFH12K images, and visit Paul Wiegert's web page on this very interesting object. |
Observations of the optical counterpart of Gamma Ray
Bursts
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With M. Boer (CESR), we got observing time from the French Time Allocation Committee for a follow-up of the GRB discoveries, to be used when needed on French time for up to 3 nights a semester. For the first time in February 1999, we had the right instrument on the telescope at the right time and I was able to make the first CFHT observations of GRB19990123. With CFH12k more often on the telescope and working in queued service observing more, more opportunities are found (using discretionary or TOO time) to observe GRB's and make a significant contribution to their study. Though no observations were made since the end of 2001, you can visit the CFHT GRB page for more information... |
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Before, and since 1980, I used to be an astronomer at Observatoire
de la Cote d'Azur where I have been in charge of the Lunar
Laser Ranging station, and worked on Time Transfer using laser light.
Two projects I started and promoted with other colleagues (T2L2 and ACES) are on good tracks for flying sometime!... |
