Rothney Astrophysical Observatory

I LOVE this place and I can’t believe I had no clue it existed!
I recently went there to view the Milky Way and everyone from the volunteers to the experts to the other guests were nice, knowledgeable and so fun.
I was there on a date but I highly recommend going to one of their viewing nights for any reason. Date, family trip or just to do something different, Rothney Astrophysical Observatory was a quirky, educational and all out fun time!
The only thing I’ll say is bring bug spray and a warm blanket!

We visited on a Monday night in early April as part of a school field trip supervised by parents, and it was a blast! Definitely want to come back for one of the open houses! If you like to learn about space, the universe, and how star stuff works, check it out!

I was here July 17, 2010 for the July open house. Always go there during an open house, and check their website for times (they differ month to month)

It’s $ 20 per car, and makes a G-​R-​E-​A-​T unique date. You’ll usually listen to a few way-​too-​long presentations about space, some of which will be interesting, some of which will be Ben Stein worthy, but when it gets dark you get to look through tons of telescopes and see closeups of the moon, SATURN, star groupings etc. You can’t go wrong with an evening at this place. It’s a little far out of the city, so don’t take a first date there who thinks you might be taking her/​him to kill them in the woods and bury their body.
If you’re taking kids, maybe show up a bit late, and make sure they’re well rested. You probably won’t be out of there until around 11 (in the summer). It will be super exciting for them to look through the telescopes, but only SELECT children will care about the presentations.

While in Alberta last month, I had to make a stop here «because I believe in science!». Nah, but seriously, this is an observatory in the foothills of the Rockies southwest of Calgary, and there is a Siksika astronomer working here who’s made some big news: He named a comet he discovered last year.
The RAO is an observatory with several optical telescopes as well as a small radio telescope, and also a newly-​built outreach center. I made a trek up here late on an observing night while Rob Cardinal was busy scanning the southern Alberta skies for comets. Mr. Cardinal gave me a tour of the facility and showed me the various instruments RAO uses as well as the Control Rooms which control them. It sounds like they get a fair amount of traffic up to the observatory for various outreach opportunities. The observatory is really cool, and they are conducting really neat work.
Rob has been comet-​hunting for a few years, and after the tour of the facility, he walked me through some of his searching techniques. We didn’t happen to find any candidates that night, but it was cool to see his work and what he does. Nice to meet a fellow Siksika astronomer!
So if you happen to be in the hills southwest of Calgary on a clear and starry night, be sure to stop on by!

The RASC is the primary research facility for the University of Calgary’s Department of Physics and Astronomy. Approximately once a month, they host an event that is open to the general public.
The RASC and TELUS World of Science have partnered up to host a variety of events this year as 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy. More info is available at
. So there are actually more events this year than usual.
My companions and I attended the Radio Astronomy night. This visit was inspired by a Japanese show I’ve been watching about an astronomy club.
The observatory is a little hard to find in the dark. Yes, there is a sign but you don’t see it until AFTER you drive past it. It would help if there were more lights on Highway 22 South. It would help if there were actual lights on that stretch of road. At least lights around the sign. And at least a sign saying «Rothney Astrophysical Observatory — 1 km» and then «Rothney Astrophysical Observatory — 500 m». Not just the sign right at the entrance.
What a nifty setup. For $ 20/​car, you get to learn all about galaxies «far, far away». Snacks are dirt cheap. Coke, Barq’s and chocolate bars for $ 1 each? Unheard of.
Inside, the hall was jam packed with everyone from young kids to their grandparents (and everyone in between). The screen shots were funky and the topic was interesting enough. The delivery? It was a little, no, it was REALLY DRY.
The fun part is outside. Follow the little red lights leading to the telescopes. The Baker-​Nunn telescope is the only telescope in Canada dedicated to scoping out potential killer asteroids. Too bad it couldn’t shoot them out of the sky like the Starship Enterprise.
I digress. For such a large instrument, the telescope moves quietly, while the observatory doors «ka-​chunk» along. The telescope was trying to zoom in on Jupiter, but it was too low in the sky. It was also acting a little strange so the staff and students were in the viewing room troubleshooting. For a normal bystander, being in the back of that room was pretty darn exciting.
The smaller telescope in the other building was able to deliver viewers a glimpse of Jupiter. The operator told us that particular telescope can be controlled remotely. Use the Force, make telescope move, they can.
Members of the RAO Society had several telescopes lined up. Most were pointing at the waxing moon, which shines ever so brightly in the countryside. We could see the mares the presenter spoke of.
One telescope offered visitors a glimpse of the Andromeda galaxy and the M32 galaxy. They were bright dots with a lot of fuzzy light around them. Distinctly different from a star. It had me wishing for my own Stargate.
The stars are so bright and beautiful when you step out of the city. No smog, no streetlights, no honking cars or sirens. Just the silence of the countryside and those shimmering stars peppering a blanket of darkness.
Those free hot bevvies are a welcome treat after standing in the nippy fall air.