Jean-Marc Bonnet-Bidaud

Jean-Marc Bonnet-Bidaud (born 1950) is a French astrophysicist at the Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA). He is a specialist in high-energy astrophysics and in the study of highly condensed stars in the galaxy (white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes). He is also active in the field of the history of astronomy and in charge of the public outreach for astronomy at CEA.

Scientific work

Among his highest citation scientific papers are the discovery and collaborative study of an atypical supernova observed in 2006, a scientific review on the enigmatic X-ray source Cygnus X-3 and its reported very high energy emission and the discovery of abnormal CNO abundances among accreting magnetic white dwarfs.

History of science

Bonnet-Bidaud is the author of the first scientific study of the oldest known stellar map, the Dunhuang Star Chart, also known as the S.3326 manuscript, a document found in China along the Silk road and now kept at the British Library in London, England. The study concludes to a now revised datation at +650-685, making the chart contemporary of the early Tang Dynasty and most probably produced by the famous Chinese astronomer Li Chunfeng.