French-Canadian astrophysicist and popularizer Hubert Reeves has died

The famous French-Canadian astrophysicist Hubert Reeves, known for his work popularizing the cosmos, died on Friday at the age of 91, his son announced on Facebook.

 

Hubert Reeves, who died in Paris, was a masterful storyteller of the history of the Universe, his life's passion, but also one of the most ardent defenders of the blue planet.

 

Born in Montreal on July 13, 1932, this Gallic Druid-like scientist had a talent for making the most complex physical phenomena intelligible, "to all those who marveled at the world", as he did. After working for NASA in the 1960s, he pursued a teaching career in Belgium, before moving to France, where he established himself as director of research at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) and advisor to the Commissariat à l'énergie atomique (CEA).

 

Having inherited a talent for storytelling from his maternal grandmother Charlotte Tourangeau, who used to make him dream as a child by telling him endless stories, he decided to write a book - "Patience dans l'azur" (1981)- to tell the story of the universe.

 

Success was beyond all expectations, and Hubert Reeves embarked on a second career as a science popularizer.

 

His many books include "Poussières d'étoiles" (1984), "L'heure de s'enivrer" (1986), "La mer expliquée à nos petits-enfants" (2015) and "La fureur de vivre" (2020).

 

Astronomy is a complex subject, but he fascinates a wide audience because he knows how to make his thinking accessible. His quotation "To look far is to look early", to evoke space-time, is an illustration of this.