Bagnoud Observatory

Template:Short description François-Xavier Bagnoud Observatory (French: Observatoire François-Xavier Bagnoud) is an astronomical observatory located above the village of Saint-Luc in Valais, Switzerland, close to the top of the funicular, at a height of . It is a non-profit organisation funded by Association François-Xavier Bagnoud and named after a Swiss rescue pilot.

Opened in 1995, the observatory was established to promote astronomy education and public engagement. Its facilities are accessible to schools, amateur astronomers, and visitors, supporting both hands-on learning and public demonstrations in daytime and nighttime conditions. Unlike most mountain observatories equipped with professional instruments, it is not reserved solely for scientists but is open to the public.

The observatory has and telescopes, as well as a heliostat, a weather station, a planetarium, and a planet trail between the observatory and the funicular. In 2007, it contributed to the detection of Gliese 436 b, a Neptune-sized exoplanet composed largely of hot ice.

History

In 2007, the observatory contributed to the discovery of Gliese 436 b, a planet located 30 light years away. Using its 24-inch telescope, astronomers detected a dimming of the host star’s light, indicating a planetary transit. The observatory’s director described it as the first time a non-gaseous extrasolar planet had both its mass and size precisely measured, calling the discovery “a great step towards the search for other planets that resemble Earth”.