Newbrook Observatory

Newbrook Observatory, a designated historic building in Newbrook, Alberta, played a small but memorable role in the early space age from a quiet corner of the Canadian prairies.

About Newbrook Observatory

Built in 1951, the observatory opened in 1952 as a field station of the Stellar Physics Division of the Dominion Observatory in Ottawa. It was equipped with a Super-Schmidt Meteor Camera, one of only six ever built by the Perkin-Elmer Company, and formed part of a 1946 US-Canada cooperative agreement on space science, with a particular focus on meteorite observations.

History

Newbrook Observatory operated from 1952 to 1957, during which it recorded more than 8,000 meteor spectrograph exposures. Its most famous moment came when resident scientist Art Griffin became the first person in North America to photograph the Soviet satellite Sputnik 1, less than a week after its launch. In 1970, the Canadian government consolidated its astronomical research, and Newbrook — along with the nearby Meanook facility about 23 miles to the northwest — was closed.

Location & getting there

The observatory is located in Newbrook, Alberta, a strategically chosen northerly site that offered clear night skies with minimal interference from the aurora, ideal for meteor tracking.

Visiting Newbrook Observatory

As a designated historic building, the site preserves an important piece of Canadian space science history. Check locally for current access details before visiting, since it is no longer an active research station.

See your named star from here

Alberta's northern skies, once used to track meteors and satellites, are just as good for spotting a single named star today. If you've named a star with Star Register, find its coordinates in our star catalogue and see if you can pick it out from the same dark prairie skies that once caught Sputnik 1.