His family originated from the coal mining village of Petit-Brahic in the Banne commune of southern France.

Brahic had stated that many of his ancestors died of silicosis, but his father quit the mines to work for the railway industry.

[1] Brahic was first introduced into the field of astrophysics by Evry Schatzman, one of the foremost astrophysicist in France at the time.

[2] In the 1980s, Brahic became a specialist in exploring the Solar System NASA Voyager program and the Cassini spacecraft.

[5] [6] Brahic named the arcs, known today as parts of the Adams ring - Liberté, Égalité, and Fraternité (Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity), after the national motto of France.