The Physics DepartmentOpen Houses typically take place on the second Saturday of every month*, at 7:00 from September-April and 8:00pm from May-August, in Ellis Hall on the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ Campus (58 University Ave). Each month, a featured astronomer presents a hot topic in current astrophysics research followed by a tour of the Observatory facilities!
During the tour, visitors have a chance to look at the night sky using Observatory telescopes (weather permitting), learn about astro-particle research at the McDonald Institute and the history of physics at ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥.
(*Sometimes we may depart from the regular schedule - sign up to our mailing list and follow us on social media to stay up to date with the events)
Upcoming Events
Looking for Aliens because Netflix doesn’t have enough space dramas!
Join us for an Observatory Open House on Saturday, March 8th at 7:00PM!
This month we are looking forward to feature Dr. Nikhil Arora, who is a Postdoctoral Fellow at ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ and Outreach Coordinator at the McDonald Institute. He will present 'Looking for Aliens because Netflix doesn’t have enough space dramas!'
The 2025 planetary alignment will still be visible on March 8th (weather permitting)!
Nikhil's presentation will be followed by a tour of the Queen’s Observatory where visitors will have the chance to view the planets and/or other celestial objects with our telescopes! The tour will also include a visit to the Arthur B. McDonald Canadian Astroparticle Physics Research Institute.
We hope to see you there!
This is event is free for all ages!
Check the Forecast Before you Arrive
When reading the clear dark sky chart there is a 24h clock time along the top and each row gives useful information, the most important ones can be read as follows. The "Cloud Cover" row is white for cloudy and blue for clear. The "Darkness" row is white for daytime and dark blue for night time. The "Seeing" row is white for blurry skies and blue for clear skies.
