UPDATE (Oct. 19): The weather forecast is calling for clouds and rain showers for Saturday, so we will have to cancel our Moon Night. We are scheduling our next telescope session for the evening of November 15; details will be posted on Monday.

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We will once again be participating in International Observe the Moon Night, which takes place this year on October 20. Join us anytime between 7:00-9:00 PM to learn about the Moon and view it through our telescope.

Come to room 417 of Memorial Hall to get started (find information about parking and where to find the building here). There you’ll find Moon maps, models, and an astronomy enthusiast who can answer any of your questions while you wait for your turn to go up to the telescope. All ages are welcome. Please note that it is necessary to climb up one storey of stairs to reach the telescope.

This event is weather dependent. If the sky is too cloudy, we won’t be able to see the Moon. If the event has to be cancelled due to weather, updates will be posted here, as well as on our Facebook and Twitter feeds.

Since sunsets are so late in the evening from May through August, we are switching our public telescope viewing sessions over from nighttime to daytime. We’ll set up one or two of our solar telescopes and view the features of Sun (safely!) in the hydrogen alpha wavelength or in white light.

Our hydrogen-alpha solar telescope.

• Wednesday, May 23, 12:00-1:00PM – POSTPONED to May 30, 12:00-1:00PM
• Thursday, June 28, 12:00-1:00PM – POSTPONED to July 5, 12:00-1:00PM CANCELLED (due to cloudy weather)
• Thursday, July 26, 2:00-4:00PMPOSTPONED to Thursday, August 2, 12:00-1:00PM POSTPONED to Tuesday, August 7, 12:00-1:30PM
  
• Wednesday, August 15, 12:00-1:00PM CANCELLED (due to cloudy weather)

The viewings are weather-dependent – if the sky is completely clouded over so that we can’t see the Sun, we’ll have to cancel the viewing or postpone it. This post will be edited with updates on the viewings as needed.

Solar viewings will be held outside the SSDE building.

All viewings will be held outside the SSDE building entrance (building #30 on the campus map). The viewing will be at ground level, so it will be accessible to anyone with mobility issues. Parking is available in lots adjacent to the building (shown in the map below) and there is no charge for parking in these lots during the summer semester.

The solar viewings will be outside the entrance of the SSDE building (indicated by orange star on the map). Parking is available in UPEI Lots D & E and the MacLauchlan Arena lot.

UPDATE (9:15am April 20): Due to the forecast of cloudy weather for Saturday evening, we will have to cancel the public viewing.

With twilight coming very late as we approach the June solstice, we will likely not schedule any nighttime public viewings until late summer when it will be once again getting dark earlier in the evening. We will have some daytime public viewings with our solar telescope and will post about those soon.

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Our next public viewing is scheduled for Saturday, April 21, from 8:30-10:00 PM. For the first half-hour, we will view the Moon and when it gets darker around 9:00 PM we will switch to some other objects in the sky.

Our observatory is on the rooftop of UPEI’s Memorial Hall, but we ask that you come first to room 417 to wait for your turn to go up to the telescope. Volunteers from local astronomy groups and UPEI Physics will be available to answer any astronomy questions for you while you wait.

It is necessary to climb a flight of stairs to reach the telescope, but the elevator can be taken up to the 4th floor waiting room.

In the evening hours, campus parking lots are free, with parking lots B and C being the nearest lots to Memorial Hall.

If the weather is cloudy and we cannot view the sky, this post will be updated in the event of cancellation or postponement.

UPDATE (4:40 PM, March 23): The forecast for Saturday is cloudy with a chance of flurries all day and night, so that’s not good telescope weather. Our viewing scheduled for March 24 is cancelled. We’ll try to schedule a viewing for April soon (after university examination period) and will post details once they’re available.

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UPDATE (10:25 AM, March 3): Due to the forecast for clouds and chance of flurries this evening, our viewing is postponed to March 24, 8:00-10:00 PM.

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Our next public viewing is scheduled for Saturday, March 3 from 7:00-9:00 PM. Our back-up date (in the event of cloudy weather) is Saturday, March 24 from 8:00-10:00 PM.

Our observatory is on the rooftop of UPEI’s Memorial Hall, but we ask that you come first to room 417 to wait for your turn to go up to the telescope. Volunteers from local astronomy groups and UPEI Physics will be available to answer any astronomy questions for you while you wait.

It is necessary to climb a flight of stairs to reach the telescope, but the elevator can be taken up to the 4th floor waiting room.

In the evening hours, campus parking lots are free, with parking lots B and C being the nearest lots to Memorial Hall.

If the weather is cloudy and we cannot view the sky, this post will be updated in the event of cancellation or postponement.

UPDATE (8:50PM Nov 30): Clouds have moved in earlier than expected this evening, so conditions are getting poor for viewing. We will have to shut the viewing down early at 9PM.
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UPDATE (7:05PM Nov 15): With cloudy weather predicted for tomorrow (November 16), we will postpone our public telescope viewing until the cloud-date of Thursday, November 30 from 8:00-9:30PM. Should the weather not cooperate for that date, this post will be updated.

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Our next public viewing is scheduled for Thursday, November 16 from 8:00-9:30PM. Our back-up date (in the event of cloudy weather) is Thursday, November 30 from 8:00-9:30PM.

Our observatory is on the rooftop of UPEI’s Memorial Hall, but we ask that you come first to room 417 to wait for your turn to go up to the telescope. Volunteers from local astronomy groups and UPEI Physics will be available to answer any astronomy questions for you while you wait.

It is necessary to climb a flight of stairs to reach the telescope, but the elevator can be taken up to the 4th floor waiting room.

In the evening hours, campus parking lots are free, with parking lots B and C being the nearest lots to Memorial Hall.

If the weather is cloudy and we cannot view the sky, the event will be postponed. This post will be updated in the event of cancellation or postponement.