Queen's Observatory Kingston Virtual Tour

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Queen's Observatory, Kingston Ontario

The first Observatory in Kingston was established in the mid-19th century, the beginning of a long and distinguished history of astronomical observing in this city. The current Observatory, now based at Queen's University, houses a state-of-the-art 16-inch reflecting telescope in a dome on the roof of Ellis Hall, and is used for student training, public demonstrations, and school visits.

For further information, please see the Observatory website or contact the Observatory Coordinator by email or phone 613-533-2711.

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Here we see the telescope dome from the roof of Ellis Hall, looking west.
Notice the lovely views of Queen's University and Kingston! (note that this area is not accessible to the general public). The dome shutter is open, inviting us to take a closer look ...

We're still on the roof, but we can now see the 16" telescope inside the dome. On the other side of the dome we can see a screen used to calibrate the observatory's digital CCD camera.

We're finally inside the dome, and can get a proper look at the telescope. The telescope mirror has a diameter of 16" (40cm), and is controlled by the laptop visible beside it. The telescope can be used either with eyepieces for public observing, or with a digital CCD camera (1 megapixel, soon to be upgraded to a 9 or 16 megapixel camera) that can store images to be analyzed later.

The Queen's Observatory is thus a fully-functioning scientific facility. Looking around the dome, one can see ventilation holes, the motor used to move the dome, and associated cabling and electronics. Though there has been an observatory on Ellis Hall since 1958, the current telescope and dome are relatively new, being installed in 2000-2001.

This room is immediately below the telescope and dome, and is used for astronomical talks, slide-shows, and movies. The room can seat 30-40 people, and is equipped with a projector, wide-screen TV, laptop, and internet capability. Against one wall can be seen the telescope pier (white), and some smaller telescopes used during open houses (on our observing deck, not visible here). Against the opposite wall are the computers used to control the telescope and take images with the digital CCD camera. On other walls can be seen some pictures taken with the 16" telescope.

We have ~3000 visitors come through the Observatory every year, during open houses, school visits, and other groups (e.g.
cubs/brownies/guides).

To book a visit, please see our Queens Observatory website for further information and contact details for the Observatory Coordinator.

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