Observatory

The StFX Observatory is located on West Street, just off University Avenue (building 25 to the left of West Street on the campus map). It opened in 2018 and is mainly used for teaching, outreach, and student research projects. It houses the following instruments: 

• 28 cm (11”) Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope (SCT), pier-mounted  
• 25 cm (10”) SCT, pier-mounted  
• 70 mm refractor  
• 60 mm H-alpha filtered refractor for solar observing  
• 33 cm (13”) Dobsonian  

A small classroom (with washroom) is located nearby.   

Please visit the Department's Facebook page for information on when the observatory will be open. 

During the term, the observatory will be open to the public on Wednesday nights if the sky is sufficiently clear. We may offer additional observation sessions, but information on this will only be available on short notice. Reliable information on the weather is normally only available 6-12 hours before an event. The tentative schedule can be found at the bottom of this page.  

Some webpages of interest:  

• Environment Canada cloud forecast
• Sky and Telescope updates
• Astronomical picture of the day

Observatory schedule for fall 2024, weather permitting

Since weather is a major factor, we will confirm on our Facebook page if a session actually takes place, usually a few hours before the session. The times given are "arrival times". People who want to join us for an observation session should arrive at the observatory during the hour given in the schedule. Depending on the interest of visitors, we will keep the observatory open longer.