
Photo: Christopher Michel / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Jacques Vallée may be the most quietly radical figure in this batch. A trained astronomer who co-built an early computerized map of Mars for NASA, he then turned the same rigorous tools toward the UFO phenomenon, refusing both blind belief and lazy dismissal. That third path, treating the unexplained as data worth measuring, is exactly what I find admirable, and it's why his influence reaches from the Paris Observatory to a Spielberg character. Works like Passport to Magonia reframed the whole conversation. Nearing his late eighties he is still probing the edges of the known, and I respect few things more than a scientist who keeps the question open.
Overview
Jacques Fabrice Vallée (French: [ʒak fabʁis vale]; born September 24, 1939) is a French Internet pioneer, computer scientist, venture capitalist, author, ufologist and astronomer currently residing in San Francisco, California and Paris, France. His scientific career began as a professional astronomer at the Paris Observatory. Vallée co-developed the first computerized map of Mars for NASA in 1963.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Jacques Vallée
- Name (Japanese)
- ジャック・ヴァレー
- Reading
- じゃっく・ゔぁれー
- Born
- September 24, 1939 (age 86)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Libra / Rabbit
- Origin
- Pontoise, Val-d'Oise, France
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- astronomer / computer scientist / astrophysicist / engineer / ufologist
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- University of Paris
Awards & achievements
- 1961 Prix Jules-Verne
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | Passport to Magonia | — | |
| Notable work | Messengers of Deception: UFO Contacts and Cults | — | |
| Notable work | Alien Contact Trilogy | — | |
| Notable work | The Invisible College | — |
6. Links
- Official sitehttps://www.jacquesvallee.net
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A3%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF%E3%83%BB%E3%83%B4%E3%82%A1%E3%83%AC
Astronomer — see all → · Computer scientist — see all → · More people from France →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.