Mont Mégantic Observatory
Encyclopedia
| Organization | Université de Montréal Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal is a public francophone research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two affiliated schools: the École Polytechnique and HEC Montréal... and Université Laval Université Laval Laval University is the oldest centre of education in Canada and was the first institution in North America to offer higher education in French... |
|---|---|
| Location | Mont Mégantic Mont Mégantic Mont Mégantic is a monadnock located in Québec, Canada, about 15 km north of the border between Québec and the U.S. states of Maine and New Hampshire.Mégantic is on the border of the regional county municipalities of Le Granit and Le Haut-Saint-François.... |
| Coordinates | 45°27′18"N 71°9′12"W |
| Altitude | 1111 metres (3645 ft) |
| Webpage | http://www.astro.umontreal.ca/omm/ |
| Telescopes | |
| Unnamed telescope Telescope A telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses... |
1.6 m Ritchey-Chrétien |
The Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic (abbreviated as OMM and called Mont Mégantic Observatory in English) is an astronomical
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
observatory
Observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...
owned and operated jointly by the Université de Montréal
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal is a public francophone research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two affiliated schools: the École Polytechnique and HEC Montréal...
, the Université Laval
Université Laval
Laval University is the oldest centre of education in Canada and was the first institution in North America to offer higher education in French...
and the McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
. Founded in 1978, it is the largest observatory of eastern Canada, and is situated at the summit of Mont Mégantic
Mont Mégantic
Mont Mégantic is a monadnock located in Québec, Canada, about 15 km north of the border between Québec and the U.S. states of Maine and New Hampshire.Mégantic is on the border of the regional county municipalities of Le Granit and Le Haut-Saint-François....
, the highest point of the province of Québec to be accessible by car.
The observatory (IAU code 301) is about 250 km east of Montréal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
.
The telescope is equipped with a complement of modern instruments: visible imagery, spectroscopy
Spectroscopy
Spectroscopy is the study of the interaction between matter and radiated energy. Historically, spectroscopy originated through the study of visible light dispersed according to its wavelength, e.g., by a prism. Later the concept was expanded greatly to comprise any interaction with radiative...
and polarimetry
Polarimetry
Polarimetry is the measurement and interpretation of the polarization of transverse waves, most notably electromagnetic waves, such as radio or light waves...
are routinely conducted. There is also an infrared
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
imager, but it is often "borrowed" by astronomers observing at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope
Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope
The Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope is located near the summit of Mauna Kea mountain on Hawaii's Big Island at an altitude of 4,204 meters , and is one of the observatories that comprise the Mauna Kea Observatory...
(CFHT).
The current director is René Doyon.
Efforts to control local light pollution
Light pollution
Light pollution, also known as photopollution or luminous pollution, is excessive or obtrusive artificial light.The International Dark-Sky Association defines light pollution as:...
(about one-quarter of which is due to the nearby city of Sherbrooke) have led to the establishment of the world's first International Dark-Sky Association
International Dark-Sky Association
The International Dark-Sky Association is a U.S.-based non-profit organization incorporated in 1988 by founders Dr. David Crawford, a professional astronomer, and Dr. Timothy Hunter, a medical doctor/amateur astronomer...
(IDA) Dark Sky preserve
Dark Sky preserve
A dark-sky preserve is an area, usually surrounding a park or observatory, that is kept free of artificial light. The purpose of a dark-sky preserve is generally to promote astronomy. Because different national organizations have worked independently to create their programs, different terms have...
around the observatory, covering some 5500 square km (2123 square miles).
The Asteroid 4843 Mégantic
4843 Mégantic
4843 Mégantic is a main belt asteroid with an orbital period of 1982.1094798 days . It has a diameter of about 26.02 km from observations with the IRAS infrared space telescope during the 1980s....
is named for the Observatory http://astro-canada.ca/_en/a2109.html
External links
- Mont Mégantic Observatory Clear Sky Clock Forecast of observing conditions.
- Astrolab du parc national du Mont-Mégantic Information about visiting the ASTROlab during the day.