{"id":35,"date":"2019-10-07T00:10:30","date_gmt":"2019-10-06T22:10:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.lesia.obspm.fr\/thomas-widemann\/?page_id=35"},"modified":"2025-08-14T17:36:46","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T15:36:46","slug":"home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.lesia.obspm.fr\/thomas-widemann\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Dr. Thomas Widemann
Paris Observatory, France<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Dr. Thomas Widemann<\/strong> is a Staff Scientist at Paris Observatory\u2019s Laboratory for Instrumentation and Research in Astrophysics (LIRA) and Senior Associate Professor at University Versailles Saint-Quentin, a branch of Universit\u00e9 Paris-Saclay, France. Dr. Widemann is member of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), section Basic Sciences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To study the climate and dynamics of planetary atmospheres, Dr. Widemann developed outstanding techniques combining simultaneous space and ground-based observations, to provide absolute wind measurements and circulation regimes in planetary atmospheres. He demonstrated that observed cloud motions track actual, instantaneous winds, allowing to test atmospheric global circulation models using high resolution visible and IR spectroscopy. Dr. Widemann also led major advancements in planetary sciences through stellar occultation campaigns, such as establishing an upper limit on Uranian moon Titania’s atmosphere and oblateness, and contributing to the discovery of rings around centaur Chariklo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Widemann’s career achievements have provided the basis for international support of ground-based observers for ESA’s Venus Express mission. Dr. Widemann co-led the EnVision orbiter mission proposal, which was adopted in 2024 as the European Space Agency’s (ESA) fifth medium-class science mission in its Cosmic Vision program. He is a member of its Science Working Team. As a key partner in the mission, NASA is providing EnVision’s Synthetic Aperture Radar, VenSAR. He is also one of two French members of the VERITAS science team led by Dr. Sue Smrekar of NASA\/Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. VERITAS is the selected NASA\/Discovery orbiter mission to Venus. Both missions are to be launched early in the next decade (2031-2032). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Education<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n