Cégep de Trois-Rivières Observatory

The Cégep de Trois-Rivières Observatory stands on high ground overlooking the St. Lawrence River plain in Champlain, Quebec, Canada, on the Rang Sainte-Marie.

About the observatory

The site was chosen after a dedicated search for high sky quality, and the finished observatory included a multimedia room, an instrumentation room and an observation terrace lined with fifteen interpretation panels for visitors and students.

History

Built in the summer of 1980, the observatory carried the International Astronomical Union monitoring code 924. Its main instrument, a 40-cm (16-inch) Newtonian reflector, was automated in 2010 for autonomous night imaging. The facility closed in June 2020, and a planned CAD 11.3 million replacement science museum with two 600 mm Cassegrain telescopes and a planetarium was cancelled in December 2024 due to lack of funding.

Telescopes & research

During its operating years the observatory's 40-cm Newtonian reflector supported public educational programmes and, after its 2010 automation, autonomous night imaging.

Location & getting there

The site is at 300 rang Sainte-Marie in Champlain, Quebec, on elevated ground above the St. Lawrence River plain. The map above shows the exact coordinates.

Visiting

The observatory has been closed since June 2020 and the museum project intended to replace it was cancelled in December 2024, so there is currently no public access to the site.

See your named star from here

Once you have named a star through one of our star packages, we hand you its exact right ascension and declination. Any observatory staff member with a computerised telescope, including a team at this site, can slew to those coordinates and point the eyepiece straight at "your" star. Browse the catalogue to see how a naming looks, or check our list of observatories to plan a visit.