Quebec astrophysicist, environmentalist and writer Hubert Reeves died Friday at the age of 91. His son, Benoit Reeves, made the announcement on social networks.
“My whole family joins me in the pain of having to announce to you that our dear father left to join the stars today Friday October 13, 2023,” he wrote.
Tributes to the deceased quickly poured in on social media.
“Quebec today loses an outstanding popularizer, a renowned astrophysicist. Hubert Reeves knew how to find the words to make us understand humanity and infinity. He leaves today as he came, in stardust,” declared the Prime Minister of Quebec, François Legault.
“He will have been a beacon for humanity. He will remain a star in the firmament of the greats of this world, a wise man and a great Quebecer,” added PQ MP Joël Arseneau.
“Passionate and committed to several causes, he left his mark on Quebec, the scientific community and many of us,” added interim Liberal leader Marc Tanguay.
Among the greatest astrophysicists of his generation
Passionate about the beauty of the universe, this scientist participated in the development of the theory on the origin of lithium, beryllium and boron and studied thermonuclear reactions in the hearts of stars.
During his long career in Quebec, the United States and Europe, he was rewarded many times, notably by the Albert Einstein and Samuel de Champlain prizes. Companion of the Order of Canada, officer of the National Order of Quebec and holder of eight honorary doctorates, Hubert Reeves is recognized as one of the greatest astrophysicists of his generation. He is the author of around forty books and hundreds of publications in specialist journals.
Wanting to share his wonder with everyone, he created several shows and wrote numerous popular science works, including Patience in the azure And Star dust. An annual Canadian competition for the best popular science book is named after him.
A life of curiosity and discovery
Born July 13, 1932 in Montreal, Hubert Reeves was passionate about science from a very young age, when he first devoured The Youth Encyclopediathen old school textbooks found in his attic, his “priceless treasure of dog-eared books”.
A professor at the University of Montreal during the Quiet Revolution, he was disappointed by the nationalism that permeated the Quebec scientific community. When his colleagues abandoned a particle accelerator project in collaboration with McGill University, refusing to have to speak English in the laboratory, in 1964, Fr.r Reeves accepted an offer to teach in Belgium.
The following year, he joined a French research team, with which he succeeded in evaluating “the abundance of heavy hydrogen before the formation of the first stars”, which he describes in his memoirs as “the 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 Humanity and Biodiversity, of which he remained honorary president until his death.
For him, astronomy and ecology were “two parts of the same theme”, that of “our existence”. “Astronomy, by telling us the history of the Universe, tells us where we come from, how we came to be here today. Ecology, by making us aware of the threats weighing on our future, aims to tell us how to stay there,” he wrote.
His love for nature was alive and well in his attachment to his residence in the French village of Malicorne, the location of many country walks.
Art was another of his passions, a different way of “accessing the richness and beauty of the Universe”. Passionate about music, he even played the role of reciter in numerous orchestra productions.
“Graceful exit”
Faced with his own mortality, Hubert Reeves’ deep regret was that he would soon “no longer have access to the pursuit of this fascinating exploration of the cosmos” in which he was a great participant.
His wish was to have a graceful exit », a graceful exit, like ballerinas who gently leave the stage.