On February 11, 2005, took place the inauguration, in the presence of numerous journalists and several prominent egyptian figures, of the planetarium show entitled « Stars of Egypt: In Search for the lost Temple », entirely dedicated to astronomy in ancient Egypt and designed in partnership with the Planetarium of Saint-Etienne (Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes).
This show entirely dedicated to Ancient Egyptian Astronomy was conceived at the Saint-Etienne Planetarium (Astronef). It was inaugurated on February 11, 2005 in the presence of many journalists and some personalities: Hoda S. Elmikaty, Director of the Planetarium of Alexandria; Professor Taha Abdalla, Cultural and Scientific Counsellor, Embassy of Egypt, Ahmed Youssef, a writer and journalist, and myself, Karine Gadré as Scientific Advisor.
The show, which lasts 60 minutes, consists of two parts:
Today, Library of Alexandria. A young archaeologist named Carla undertakes to go on the research work of her father, an Egyptologist, who died recently. She consults his writings, reads numerous ancient and modern books, looking for any clue about a lost temple : the temple of the timekeepers. « Look at the sky, had advised her father. No doubt will you find there the key needed to find the location of this temple which houses the astronomical knowledge of the ancient Egyptians ... » This quest for the lost temple will lead Carla and her friend Hotep on the way to exciting adventures, wonderfully recorded in this film made up with animated graphics on video full vault (360°):
A few of the graphics projected onto the roof of the planetarium
illustrate the steps of the journey of Carla in the Land of the Two Lands.
A major spatio-temporal shift (4000 years and 15 to 20 degrees latitude) differentiates the sky of ancient Egypt from the sky of France today. This shift is an opportunity to address many fundamental astronomical concepts: the phenomenon of precession and nutation in longitude, the proper motion of stars, the measurement of time through the successive (heliacal) risings of stars, etc. By attending this session, the public discovered the Egyptian names of bright stars like Sirius or even Rigel, Bellatrix, the Pleiades, whose identification results from the work made during my doctoral thesis.
