Quebec astrophysicist Hubert Reeves has died
Posted October 13, 2023 1:31 pm.
MONTREAL – Quebec astrophysicist, environmentalist and writer Hubert Reeves passed away on Friday at the age of 91.
His son, Benoit Reeves, made the announcement on social media.
“My whole family joins me in the pain of having to announce that our dear father has gone to join the stars this day, Friday, October 13, 2023”, he wrote.
Tributes to the deceased poured in on social networks.
“Today, Quebec loses an outstanding […] and renowned astrophysicist. Hubert Reeves found the words to help us understand humanity and infinity. He leaves today as he came, as stardust,” said Quebec Premier François Legault on social media.
“He was a beacon for humanity. He will remain a star in the firmament of the world’s greats, a wise man and a great Quebecer,” added PQ MNA Joël Arseneau.
“Passionate and committed to many causes, he left his mark on Quebec, the scientific community and many of us,” added Liberal leader Marc Tanguay.
Passionate about the beauty of the universe, this scientist helped develop the theory on the origin of lithium, beryllium and boron, and studied thermonuclear reactions at the heart of stars.
Throughout his long career in Quebec, the United States and Europe, he has received numerous awards, including the Albert Einstein and Samuel de Champlain prizes. Companion of the Order of Canada, Officer of the Ordre national du Québec and holder of eight honorary doctorates, Hubert Reeves is recognized as one of the leading astrophysicists of his generation. He is the author of some forty books and hundreds of publications in specialized journals.
Wanting to share his wonder with everyone, he has created several shows and written numerous popular science books, including “Patience dans l’azur” and “Poussière d’étoile”. An annual Canadian competition for the best popular science book bears his name.
A life of curiosity and discovery
Born in Montreal on July 13, 1932, Hubert Reeves developed a passion for science at an early age, first devouring “L’Encyclopédie de la jeunesse”, then old school textbooks found in his attic, his “priceless treasure trove of battered books”.
A professor at the Université de Montréal during the Quiet Revolution, he was disappointed by the nationalism that permeated the Quebec scientific community. When his colleagues abandoned a particle gas pedal project in collaboration with McGill University, because they refused to speak English in the laboratory, Prof. Reeves accepted an offer to teach in Belgium in 1964.
The following year, he joined a French research team, with whom he succeeded in assessing “the abundance of heavy hydrogen before the formation of the first stars”, which he describes in his memoirs as “one of the best proofs” of the existence of the Big Bang.
Between Earth and stars
A fierce defender of the environment, in 2001 he became president of the activist organization Humanité et Biodiversité, of which he remained honorary president until his death.
For him, astronomy and ecology were “two facets of the same theme”, that of “our existence”. “Astronomy, by telling us the story of the Universe, tells us where we came from, how we came to be here today. Ecology, by making us aware of the threats to our future, aims to tell us how to stay there,” he wrote.
His love of nature was alive and well in his attachment to his home in the French village of Malicorne, the scene of many a country walk.
Art was another of his passions, a different way of “accessing the richness and beauty of the Universe”. A music enthusiast, he even played the role of narrator in numerous orchestral productions.
“Graceful exit”
Faced with his own mortality, one of Hubert Reeves’ deepest regrets was that he would soon “no longer have access to the continuation of this fascinating exploration of the cosmos” in which he had been a major participant.
Her wish was to have a graceful exit, like a ballerina leaving the stage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Oct. 13, 2023, and translated by CityNews.
