Acting on the invitation of my photographer friend Eric Courcier, we rejoined the Refuge des Cosmiques (3613m) in the Mont-Blanc massif via the Aiguille du Midi cable car. It's a a magical night. The sunset gives the sky its tone, its rays painting the seracs of the glaciers pink. The purity of the air at this high altitude gives the horizon its characteristic orange band, cut away by the silhouette of the Aravis mountains.
After having received its worship, the Sun leaves place for the Moon. The end of the crescent moon, augmented by Earthshine, accompanies the planet Mercury in the twilight. Opposite, the arch of the anti-twilight renders the Earth's shadow visible, clearly sketched out above the Grandes Jorasses and the Dent du GĂ©ant.
Just before the end of nautical twilight, the astronaut Thomas Pesquet, on board the International Space Station, passes overhead, nearly at the vertical of the Mont-Blanc massif. While Eric photographed the beginning, I immortalize the end of the passage of the ISS before it disappears in the shadow of the Earth by the Great Bear, beneath the eyes of the onlookers at the Refuge. The night has just begun...