History | Queen's Observatory

The Queen's Observatory is a non-profit facility run by the Queen's University Astronomy Research Group and the Queen's Physics Department. It is staffed by graduate and undergraduate students in Astronomy. For well over a century, the Queen's Observatory has been providing access to the campus and community through its student training and public programs.

A Historic Kingston Landmark

Click on the images below to navigate and learn the history and stories behind what is now the Queen's Observatory at Ellis Hall. You may also consult the following link:
www.queensu.ca/encyclopedia/o/queens-observatory.

Daily News article announcing the plans for the new observatory - 1855

Map of City Park - 1875 of Kingston, Ontario

Nathan Fellowes Dupuis, first scientist to staff the Queen's Observatory in 1861

Observatory at the base of University Avenue - 1909

Astronomy has been a part of the Kingston community since as far back as 1855. A solar eclipse in the spring of 1854 sparked great local interest in astronomy and led to the installation of a 6.25-inch Alvan Clark refracting telescope in City Park, just east of the Queen's Campus.

6.25-inch Alvan Clark refracting telescope - 1855

An article announcing the plans for the new Observatory appeared in the Kingston Daily News on May 3, 1855:
...within the park, as a great centre of attraction, it is in contemplation to erect an observatory, on a scale of excellence and grandeur which will not only be of great advantage to the minds and morals of the rising generation, and of the citizens at large, but will be of provincial or national reputation.

Daily News article announcing the plans for the new observatory - 1855

Map of City Park - 1875

This was the first optical observatory in Ontario and its original site in City Park is now commemorated with a plaque, shown here. Some slabs of the telescope's great stone pillar are still scattered throughout City Park.

Commemorative plaque in City Park, Kingston, Ontario

Control of the Kingston Observatory was initially given to the 'Gentlemen Amateurs', but there was some dispute over the location and use of the Observatory in its very early days. In 1861, management of the Observatory was transferred to what was then Queen's College and was staffed by the renowned Queen's scientist, clock-maker and mechanical genius Nathan Fellowes Dupuis. The facility was used to provide accurate local time measurements, barometric and thermal readings, as well as for conventional observations.

Nathan Fellowes Dupuis, first scientist to staff the Queen's Observatory in 1861

Acts of vandalism, building restrictions and problems with its foundation forced the relocation of the original Observatory to a new site on Queen's Campus in 1881. This second Observatory was located beside Carruthers Hall.

Observatory at Carruthers Hall - 1881

The Observatory moved again in 1909, this time to the base of University Avenue on the Queen's Campus. It remained there until it was demolished in 1949 to make way for McLaughlin Hall.

Observatory at the base of University Avenue - 1909

Queen's Campus aerial view - 1920

Previous Next

Constructing a Modern Observatory

15-inch reflecting Fecker telescope - 1960

Replacing the old Frecker telescope - 1999

Replacing the dome on the roof of Ellis Hall - 1999

The 16-inch reflecting Cassegrain focus telescope - Present

In 1958, a new Observatory was constructed on the roof of Ellis Hall, the Civil Engineering Building on University Avenue. A 15-inch Cassegrain reflecting telescope (manufactured by the J.W. Fecker Company) was installed and the Observatory officially re-opened in November of 1960.

The Queen's Observatory has been used primarily as a teaching aid and for public demonstrations. By the late 1990s, the Queen's Observatory on Ellis Hall was drawing thousands of visitors of all ages every year.

15-inch reflecting Fecker telescope - 1960

As the end of the millennium approached, it became clear that the vintage telescope and existing facility was becoming outdated. In 1997, the Physics Department and Queen's University began raising funds to upgrade the aging equipment at the Observatory. Renovations began in the summer of 1999, when the Fecker telescope was very carefully disassembled and removed from the Observatory. This was no small task!

Replacing the old Frecker telescope - 1999

With our old telescope gone, the old 17-foot copper dome could safely be removed and our new Ash Dome installed. The old dome was removed by crane, and the new dome was placed on the roof of Ellis Hall to await assembly.

Replacing the dome on the roof of Ellis Hall - 1999

The Queen's Observatory is now home to a Torus Technologies CC04 automated telescope Ash Dome. This new equipment, in combination with our new Apogee Alta U9000 CCD camera added in 2007, will allow Queen's undergraduate students to engage in research programs and projects which greatly enhance their scientific training.

The 16-inch reflecting Cassegrain focus telescope - Present

Previous Next