A paradoxical blend of tradition and modernity, the sleepy village of Nançay is home to one of Europe’s most up-to-date astronomical observatories… Founded in 1953, it studies radio waves from outer space, and has three main instruments: a radio relescope (one of the world’s largest); a radio heliograph for solar study work; and decametric array equipment comprising 144 antennae mainly focused on Jupiter and the solar corona.