THE DOMINION ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY - OBSERVATOIRE FÉDÉRAL D'ASTROPHYSIQUE

The Dominion Astrophysical Observatory was opened in 1918 in Saanich, north of Victoria, British Columbia, on Canada's west coast. Its construction was the result of Canada's desire to provide its astronomers with a high-performance, large-diameter telescope. Its very large diameter - 1.83 m! - and its 42 tons on the scales quickly made it the largest telescope in the world. The project was initiated by Canadian astronomer John Stanley Plaskett (1865-1941), to such an extent that the telescope was named "Plaskett Telescope" in his honour. Plaskett naturally became its first director and gave it a world-class reputation. Among the discoveries made with the instrument, that of the most massive double star, that of the stars' own speeds of movement, and especially that of the speed of rotation of our galaxy, the Milky Way, in about 250 million years. He also succeeded in accurately determining the position of the Sun in it, about 2/3 of the distance between the centre and the galactic edge. The following decades brought their share of equally spectacular scientific announcements: the discovery of the presence of matter in interstellar space in 1940 (it was thought until then that only the void was present between the stars), and the calculation of the temperature of the Universe - about -270°C - a result so important that it paved the way for more in-depth studies on the characteristics of the cosmos. In 1962, a new telescope was added to the first, this time 1.22 m in diameter, almost exclusively for the study of double stars. In 1970, the National Research Council of Canada took over the management of the observatory and, in the early 1980s, new instruments were installed on site, some of which were designed to educate the public. In 1995, the observatory became the headquarters of the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics. A constant evolution of infrastructures throughout its history, which reached its peak with the creation of the "Centre of the Universe" integrating a planetarium and offering interactive activities, multimedia exhibitions, sky observation sessions, etc.

Nowadays it's a cold shower! Because like the other federal observatory, located on the east coast of Ottawa, it is somewhat unknown as to the possibilities of visiting the site, which has been closed since 2013 due to recurring funding problems! Once there, the easiest way is therefore, it seems, to go through the tourist office in order to be kept informed of the situation. It's not easy.