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Photo of Jacques Vallée

Photo: Christopher Michel / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)

Jacques Vallée

ジャック・ヴァレー / じゃっく・ゔぁれー

Astronomer from France

September 24, 1939 (age 86) ・ Pontoise, Val-d'Oise, France

  • Val-d'Oise
  • astronomer
  • computer scientist
  • astrophysicist

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

CategoryTitleRoleYear
Notable workPassport to Magonia
Notable workMessengers of Deception: UFO Contacts and Cults
Notable workAlien Contact Trilogy
Notable workThe Invisible College

Astronomer — see all → · Computer scientist — see all → · More people from France →

7. About this entry

Tags

  • Val-d'Oise
  • astronomer
  • computer scientist
  • astrophysicist
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.