Marco the Astronomer

French version

1970

The review “Jeunes Années (Youths)" distributed  in my class of last year of school , suggests as TP an exit in forest for the realization of a solar system on the scale to hang to the trees. The Sun will be built in a large paper ball from approximately 1 m diameter, the Earth will be represented by a marble of playground, and will be laid out with more than 100 m * of the “Sun”!!!. It is the shock, the revelation. (*Saturne with more than 1 km, one will stop there! (Pluto ~ 4,5 km)

1971

Not being a pupil of most studious but somewhat “dissipated”, at this beginning of 1st year of study to the college the hours where I am in detention rain me above. Thus during several Saturdays morning the “chief monitor” invites to me to learn my lessons and to make my duties, with the possibility of access to the library of the college… And there, not of consultation of the “Bescherelle " to revise the .conjugation, not book of history for the chronology of the emperors of antiquity, nor of English handbook for the exercises “John is in bedroom”… BUT, “a beautiful” book draws me the eye: “Astronomy for girls and boys” 2nd emotion! , with me the stars, nebulas and another galaxies… These hours of punishment are transformed into true fantastically vertiginous explorations…