Flammarion

Flammarion is a French surname. The most prominent bearer is Camille Flammarion (1842–1925), a French astronomer and popular science writer who helped bring astronomy to general audiences in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He produced numerous books and articles on astronomy, meteorology, and cosmology, and was active in promoting public understanding of science.

In popular culture, the Flammarion engraving is a well-known woodcut associated with Camille Flammarion and his writings on the atmosphere. The image typically shows a man in medieval clothing peering through a boundary in the sky into the heavens and has been interpreted as illustrating the line between the known and the unknown. Its authorship and original context are subjects of debate, but it is widely linked to the late 19th century and to Flammarion’s circle.

The name is also associated with the French publishing house Éditions Flammarion, a major publisher established in the late 19th century and named after the Flammarion family. The imprint has published a broad range of literary and scholarly works and remains a notable part of the French publishing landscape.