University of Alberta Observatory

Every Thursday the observatory is open from 12-1pm for solar observing! Visit us during this time to see the Sun through our safely filtered telescopes.

This is the Sun today on May 7, 2026.

Happy Vernal Equinox! Today is the first day of spring, even if it is snowing. The moment of the equinox is 8:46 am, Friday, March 20, 2026.

Jupiter!

Our Thursday evening observing hours move to 8 - 9 pm in March due to the later sunsets!

Early in the morning of Tuesday, March 3, 2026, there will be a total eclipse of the Moon! If the sky is clear, it will be visible in Edmonton in the Southwest part of the Sky.

Due to the early morning timing, the University of Alberta Observatory will be closed. But you can easily see the lunar eclipse without a telescope.

Photos of the partial and full phases of the 2021 lunar eclipse by

The Observatory will be closed tonight (Thursday, February 19) due to the cold!

The Observatory will be closed tonight (Thursday, January 22, 2026) due to the cold weather.

The Observatory will be closed if the temperature will be -20C or colder on Thursday.

Wow! That's a lot of snow! We should have a path to the domes dug out by
Thursday.

This Thursday, January 8, 2026, we'll be open for the public to visit from 12-1pm and from 7-8pm.

Location: enter CCIS on the west side of the building where you'll Saturn hanging in the atrium. Take the elevators close to Saturn up the 5th floor.

Today, January 3, 2026, is perihelion day! This is the day that the Earth is closest to the Sun in its elliptical orbit.