For Observers

At the Mont-Mégantic Observatory (OMM) we are committed to providing a seamless experience for our observers, whether you are an experienced astronomer or a newcomer to the field. Here, we offer a wealth of valuable information, including detailed insights into our instruments (both at the observatory and developed in the LAE), up-to-the-minute local weather updates to aid in your planning, and a streamlined request form for telescope time allocation. Our commitment is to provide you with a seamless and informative resource, ensuring that your time at Mont-Mégantic is both productive and enjoyable. Thank you for choosing our observatory, and we look forward to supporting your research endeavours.

The Telescope

The OMM features a Ritchey-Chrétien telescope with a main mirror 1.6 m in diameter. It is the largest telescope in eastern North America. Despite the modest size of its mirror, the range of instruments available makes the OMM one of the most versatile telescopes in the world. These instruments enable state-of-the-art imaging, spectroscopic and polarimetric observations in both visible and infrared light.

High-performance Instruments

Our Experimental Astrophysics Laboratory‘s array of instruments is one of the most varied and technologically advanced in the world. Recent grants from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Quebec government’s Infrastructure Enhancement Program have enabled the telescope, and the OMM as a whole, to make a major technological shift that now places the observatory and its astrophysics laboratories among the Canadian leaders in instrumentation.

A Nursery of Talent

The OMM offers a unique training environment, with one of the only university-based astronomical observatories in Canada. The OMM welcomes more than twenty master’s and doctoral students each year. Over the past decade, UdeM and ULaval researchers have trained a quarter of all Canadian astrophysics doctoral students, despite the fact that they represent only about a tenth of all Canadian professional astrophysicists. The job placement rate for astrophysicists is very high! Researchers, both men and women, trained at the OMM hold important positions in all sectors of society: academic, industrial, financial and governmental.