Ivorian Astronomy Association · Abidjan
Since 2021 we have been getting Côte d’Ivoire to look up: telescopes open to all, high-school clubs, lectures and asteroid hunting with the International Astronomical Union and NASA. Next step: a national observatory.
The Abidjan sky is yours.
Navigation — solar system
Move closer to a celestial body: each one is a door to a section of the site.
On 13 February 2021, at Félix Houphouët-Boigny University, a group of enthusiasts set out to reconcile Ivorians with science.Since then we have been taking pupils, students and the curious under the Abidjan sky, with one dream: to build the national observatory.
Asteroid belt — 2.2 to 3.2 AU
In 2022, a team of AIA volunteers detected six unknown asteroids in Pan-STARRS telescope images, with the International Astronomical Search Collaboration, under the IAU and NASA umbrella.
The 2026/2027 campaign ran from 7 September to 2 October: its preliminary results include a new discovery by the Lycée français Blaise Pascal club.
Discover the researchLow orbit — 400 km
At 5° north, Abidjan sees almost the whole sky: northern and southern stars alike. This is where AIA observes, teaches and hunts asteroids.
Drag to spin the Earth
No event scheduled yet. The next public stargazing or AstroPause will be announced here as soon as it is confirmed.
Get notified
7 September to 2 October: a new search campaign with students and volunteers. Preliminary results published in early October, including a preliminary discovery at the Lycée français Blaise Pascal.
En ligne · Science citoyenne
Lectures at LASMES for the international day of asteroids.
LASMES · Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny
An introduction to astronomy and stargazing with AIA’s telescopes, at the opening of the school’s astronomy club.
Abidjan · Lycée français Blaise Pascal
27 November to 8 December: four cities, nine dates. Free workshops, teacher training, stargazing and lectures for all, with SpaceBus France and IRD. Fifteen scientists, ten Ivorian and five French.
Abidjan · Yamoussoukro · Korhogo · Bouaké
“Satellite communication, Earth and the reconquest of space”: AIA presentation and talks on the Ivorian space agency and satellites. Some fifty participants.
LASMES · Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny
As guest of the Institut Français de Côte d’Ivoire, AIA led a debate on the future of the Earth.
Institut Français de Côte d’Ivoire
16 to 18 July: three days of Moon observation at Félix Houphouët-Boigny University, as part of the international On The Moon Again operation.
Abidjan · Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny
Founding general assembly at Félix Houphouët-Boigny University: Dr Aziz Diaby is elected first president.
Abidjan-CocodyFrom 7 September to 2 October, students and volunteers hunted asteroids. A preliminary discovery comes from the Lycée français Blaise Pascal club.
Read the article →How a team of Ivorian volunteers detected six new asteroids as part of IAU and NASA campaigns.
Read the article →Mobile planetarium, water-rocket workshops and new clubs: how our school tours plant astronomy in young minds.
Read the article →Atmosphere — Kármán line, 100 km
Hover or tap a panel to open it.
Free-access telescopes so that everyone can see the Moon, planets and stars with their own eyes, especially on the Cocody campus.
High-school tours, mobile planetarium, water-rocket workshops and new clubs. With “One school, one telescope” (ASPP-BGS), pupils discover the sky through a telescope.
Photographing the Ivorian sky, from the Moon to the Milky Way, and learning to do it with a phone or a camera.
AstroPause, Café des Savoirs: outreach meetings with researchers and enthusiasts. The first AstroPause gathered some fifty people.
With IASC and NASA (citizen science), pupils and volunteers analyse telescope images and report unknown objects. Six asteroids detected from Abidjan in 2022.
Every observation, club and lecture builds toward the same ambition: a national observatory open to pupils, students and researchers.
Observe for yourself
No telescope needed to begin: the Moon, bright planets and major constellations are visible to the naked eye from Abidjan.
Artificial light washes out the stars. A dark spot reveals many more.
It takes about twenty minutes to see the sky at its best. Avoid your phone screen, or switch it to red light.
The Moon, bright planets and major constellations need no instrument at all.
Stellarium (free, also online) shows you what to look at, where and when, from where you stand.
Photos: Abidjan at night, Wikimedia Commons · Orion nebula, NASA/ESA/Hubble · Milky Way, NOIRLab/AURA · Earth and Moon: NASA textures via three.js.
Pupil, student, teacher, enthusiast or simply curious: there is no prerequisite to watch the sky with us. Young women are especially welcome — space needs everyone.
A network beyond the atmosphere
