Credit: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA
6th ASTRONOMY NIGHT AT THE IAP
“OUR MILKY WAY AND BEYOND: A CENTURY OF GALACTIC EXPLORATION”
On June 20, 2026, starting at 6:00 p.m. and lasting until 2:00 p.m., the Institut d’astrophysique de Paris (IAP) is organizing its sixth “Astronomy Night”. The theme of this public event focuses on galaxies, to mark the centenary of Edwin Hubble’s discovery.
A hundred years ago, Edwin Hubble revealed that the Andromeda Nebula was in fact a galaxy, thereby ushering in a new era in our understanding of the Universe. Since then, we have discovered the richness and diversity of these ‘island universes’, their interactions, and their role in cosmic history.
Today, modern telescopes, such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) or the future Extremely Large Telescope (ELT)—the result of extraordinary technological achievements—allow us to look ever further back in time, right to the very first galaxies that formed a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. To mark the centenary of this seminal discovery, we invite you to take a journey through a century of cosmic exploration and delve into the latest advances that are transforming our view of the Universe. A series of lectures will explore what we know about galaxies and the questions we are asking, from the nearby to the distant Universe, starting with the Milky Way and the Local Group, right up to the primordial galaxies.
This new “Night of Astronomy” at the Institut d’astrophysique de Paris will allow one to meet young and passionate researchers who bring contemporary science to life. The main event of the night is a marathon of conferences taking place in the large amphitheatre of the laboratory (120 places), and retransmitted in an additional room (40 places). This marathon will be hosted by Mathieu Grousson (PhD in physics and science journalist), and Anna Niemiec (PhD in astrophysics and cosmology, science populariser), as well as by cartoonists from the Café des sciences.
Thanks to the live broadcast of the evening on YouTube and its “chat”, everyone will be able to interact with the speakers within the institute or via the internet, and to satisfy their curiosity about the Universe and the way scientists model it with computers. Games and animations will be proposed by the young researchers of the institute, who may be questioned about their activities and career during “flash meetings”. A food truck will allow one to eat in the courtyard.
Photos: White night of astronomy 2019.
Broadcast website: 
Program
Access is free, subject to availability.
All talks and conferences are given in French.
| Opening by Anna Niemiec and Mathieu Grousson (15min), then presentation by Kumiko Kotera (IAP's Director) (10min) | 18:00 | |
| Conference by Alain Riazuelo (researcher at the IAP) | 18:30 | “Lecture on the historic discovery by Hubble & co.” |
| Conference by Nikos Prantzos (researcher at the IAP) | 19:00 | “Our Milky Way: past, present and future” |
| Conference by Daniel Pomarède (researcher at theCEA Saclay/IRFU) | 20:00 | “The Local Group of galaxies, and its place in the map of the Universe” |
| Interview with Aurélien Valade (postdoctoral fellow at Postdam, Germany) | 20:45 | |
| Conference by Florence Durret (researcher at the IAP) | 21:00 | “Galaxies: did you say weird?” |
| Interview with Romane Cologni (PhD student at theObservatoire de Paris) | 21:45 | |
| Conference by Céline Gouin (researcher at the IAP) | 22:00 | “The cosmic web and galaxies with Euclid” |
| Interview with Jade Paste (PhD student at the IAP) | 22:45 | |
| Conference by Mathieu Puech (researcher at theObservatoire de Paris) | 23:00 | “Galaxies with the ELT” |
| Conference by Benjamin Magnelli (researcher at the CEA Saclay/IRFU) | 00:00 | “A new perspective on the dawn of the Universe” |
| Interview with Maximilien Franco (post-doctorant au CEA Saclay/IRFU) | 00:45 | |
| Conference by Maxime Trebisch (researcher at theObservatoire de Paris) | 01:00 | “Title and abstract yet to come” |
| Conclusion of the envening by Pierre Guillard (researcher at the IAP) | 01:45 |
In addition
 Sessions proposed by the PhD students:
Meeting and interaction spaces with laboratory scientists:
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Live sketching from Café des sciences |
  
   Our partners
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Contact
Jean Mouette
mouette [at] iap [dot] fr
Organization: Pierre Guillard, Alain Riazuelo, and Jean Mouette
Administration and welcome: Nadia Ndibu and Ketia Musau
Logistics: Christophe Gobet
Writing: Pierre Guillard
May 2026