TELUS World of Science™ - Edmonton: Observatory and Astronomy Links

O b s e r v a t o r y

No Charge!!!
Open weather permitting

The Observatory is located outdoors so please dress accordingly.
Closed when the temperature is below -15°C

Fall/Winter/Spring Hours
After Labour Day to the following summer (weather permitting)

Saturdays, Sundays & Holidays
1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Fridays & Saturdays
7 p.m. – 10 p.m.

Summer Hours
July to the September Labour Day weekend
7 days a week (weather permitting)
1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
and
6:30 p.m. – 10 p.m.

NOTE: Programs and Prices Subject to Change without Notice.

Visit our Observatory located southeast of the Centre.

View the Sun, the Moon, planets and stars through our
high-quality telescopes (weather permitting).

Observatory is operated by volunteer members of the RASC.

Check out out newest 16 inch telescope: Meade LX200GPS

Our new telescope, the Meade 16" LX200 telescope was made possible by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (Edmonton Centre). Like the 7" Astro Physics Refractor in the Observatory, this telescope is on loan to the TELUS World of Science - Edmonton to be used at the Observatory for public observing.

This new 16" telescope can be controlled by an external computer running a Satellite Tracking software as well as major astronomy programs, like Starry Night Pro. Our Be a Star program recipients will be able to see their stars with a push of a button...

Meade LX200GPS models take previous telescope technology to a level heretofore unimagined. Announced in September, 2001, few telescopes in the thirty-year history of Meade Instruments have aroused such intense interest, or been so quickly accepted, among both beginning and experienced amateur astronomers.

Precision GPS Alignment: Telescope alignment is accomplished automatically using signals from the Global Positioning System (GPS), a satellite system that enables extremely precise communication
to the telescope of the observer"s latitude and longitude, as well as local time.

High-Precision PointingTM (HP) Capability: Meade LX200GPS models permit the most accurate pointing capability ever offered in a commercial telescope. Now you can command the telescope to GO TO an object located on the opposite side of the sky (for example, a distance of 120 degrees in sky-angle) and, in conjunction with the telescope"s unique SYNC command, the LX200GPS locates and centers the desired object to within a precision of about one arc-minute. HP capability is accessible in either the altazimuth or equatorial orientations.

Built-in 145,000-Object Library Included as Standard Equipment: Enter into the Autostar II handbox any of the 145,000 celestial objects stored in the LX200GPS onboard database, press GO TO, and the telescope automatically slews (moves) to the object at 8°/sec., centering it precisely in the main telescope field. Additionally, the display reads out for each selected object its magnitude, size, object-type, visual quality rating, RA and Dec. Or, let the telescope take you on an automatic guided tour of TONIGHT"S BEST.

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