Between 20 June and 4 July 1905, Štefánik climbed Mont Blanc (he did so several more times in the following years) to observe the Moon and Mars. Then, he took part in an official French expedition to observe and record a full eclipse of the Sun in Alcossebre, Spain. He thus established his own reputation in French scientific society. He worked with Gaston Millochau, a member of the Académie Française, which made some of its members read his work. His studies and the results of his observations were published in reports to the Académie, and he received several awards for them. Later, he was invited to an international astronomer conference in Oxford on solar research. Between 1906 and 1908, he was co-director of the Mont Blanc observatories company.