Brief History

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With the establishment of a club at the Chinon Youth and Cultural Center (MJC) in 1984, astronomy in Chinon began to flourish under the leadership of Maurice Audejean.

In 1986, the decision was made to create an observatory equipped with a telescope of a size considered respectable at the time. With rather limited financial support from the MJC, achieving this goal seemed challenging. However, thanks to the dedication and ingenuity of the members, objectives were met, and the telescope became operational as early as 1988. At that time, we found a well-located site to build the observatory.

Although we were still far from reaching all our goals, initiatives aimed at the public, including schools, provided good publicity from which both the MJC and the City of Chinon benefited.

During the construction period, there was no pause in observations carried out on the MJC terrace, indoor sessions, classroom interventions, exhibitions, or school competitions. We maintained close connections with astronomy clubs and groups in the Centre-West region, as the regional association founded by Maurice Audejean in Touraine extended from Orléans to Loire Atlantique, from Bordeaux to Sarthe.

By 1992, the observatory was fully operational, and the Member of Parliament-Mayor of Chinon inaugurated the new facilities in the presence of an assembly of amateur astronomers who had come from afar, highlighting the synergy that Maurice Audejean and the friends from Tours had developed since 1984.

The observatory was then equipped with materials envied by many, but new technologies were soon to arrive, replacing silver-based photography and introducing innovations in micromechanics, computing, and digital imaging.

The 1990s saw the Chinon club actively participating in the first “Nuits des étoiles” (Star Nights), “Fêtes de la science” (Science Festivals), and local association forums. Planetarium sessions were set up in various locations within the Chinon district. These activities contributed to the spread of astronomy. It was during these years that Yoann Audejean, then a teenager, discovered his passion for astronomy.

Even before the 1990s, “light pollution” was already a topic of discussion. Awareness campaigns targeted local elected officials, and contacts were made with some mayors concerning nightclubs and businesses ignoring this “light pollution.”

These years also saw themed gatherings in Chinon: the Chinon Technical Days, which became increasingly significant, eventually bringing together not only amateurs but professionals as well. In 1995, the astronomy club of the Chinon MJC became a nonprofit association under the French 1901 law.

With technological advances, the observatory was connected to the electrical grid, and a digital drive replaced an analog system. A digital astronomy camera replaced traditional photochemical methods.

In 2006, the association received official approval for the International Year of Astronomy. It was an opportunity to organize significant initiatives aimed at secondary school students in the Chinon district.

In 2009, as a result of Maurice Audejean's work, the Chinon Observatory was assigned the code B92, an international reference number, for its contributions to the Minor Planet Center. See also Some Contributions to Science.

This brief look at the history of astronomy in Chinon demonstrates the journey from an era of “handcrafted” astronomy to today’s cutting-edge astronomy equipped with modern tools: computing, the internet, and even artificial intelligence.

Maurice Audejean contributed to the city of Chinon after introducing astronomy there in 1984. In 2025, he stepped away from the Chinon Observatory to dedicate himself, independently with his son Yoann, to recreational astronomy and participatory astronomy, continuing to make contributions to science. They now have a reference code from the International Astronomical Union, number R67, with their Private Observatory of Chinon. 

The distinctions he received for his contributions to the development of astronomy in the Centre-West region include:

• The Medal of the City of Tours, awarded by Jean Royer, former Minister and Mayor of Tours, in 1993.

• The Camus-Waitz Prize, awarded by the French Astronomical Society in 2001.

For founding the local astronomy association and Chinon observatory, he received the Medal of the City of Chinon in April 2025.