The Dévoluy is a limestone subalpine massif with an area of approximately 115 square miles (185 km2) which extends between the departments of Hautes-Alpes, Isère and Drôme. Its highest point, Obiou (9,150 feet / 2,789 meters) narrowly dominates the peak of Bure (8,887 feet / 2,709 meters) and its plateau visible in this photo. It is there, at an altitude of 8,372 feet (2,552 meters) and because of the exceptional clarity of the sky, that IRAM has installed a network of radio telescopes which, since 1988, has enabled the pursuit of more than 600 projects involving more than 300 astronomers from the whole world.