SFU Trottier Observatory
8888 University Drive V5A 1S6 Burnaby, BC, Canada

Good news from Dr. Joanna Woo - Starry Nights is ON for tonight! Dear fans of the night sky, Two Virtual Starry Nights events in row?? Yes! The weather is semi-cooperating! Come join us for an evening of journey to stars as we live stream an observing session from the Trottier Observatory:... When: Friday Nov. 6, 8:00pm to 9:30pm (Pacific Time) Where: https://youtu.be/R-FrZXxQVsA Those of you in the telescope loyalty program can receive credit for attending the event! To receive credit, email us within 24 hours after the event at [email protected] with the following things: A list of all the objects that we observe during Friday's event. A photo of your stamped loyalty card. Hope you'll join us! Dr. Joanna Woo

Happy Halloween! There are spirits dancing amongst the clouds of Jupiter!

Hey Stargazers! It's a Friday and the weather is great so we're going to be hosting a Virtual Starry Nights tonight! Tune in live online using the link below We're starting at 8:00pm PT to 9:30pm PT... https://youtu.be/JzdzQGMiSY0

After weeks of horrible weather, we're finally seeing a bit of sky tonight! The SFU Trottier Observatory will be LIVESTREAMING our telescope's view of the night sky tonight and you can join us as we gaze upon galaxies and planets. TONIGHT 8:00PM to 9:30PM (GMT+7). Livestream accessible here: https://youtu.be/JzdzQGMiSY0 Photo by David Dobre of one of our observatory operators, Sarah Savi Kallesøe (2017).

The next generation of super telescopes will be so powerful that we'll be able to distinguish the color of tiny dim exoplanets from that of their titanic blazing parent stars. What will those colors tell us about the habitability of those distant worlds? https://www.universetoday.com//the-color-of-habitable-wor/

The ALMA observatory is able to see the Universe in Infrared light which passes through obstructions that obscure visible light. Young stars are enshrouded in dust and gas that hide their evolution to telescopes of the past. ALMA can see those stars and gain insights into the formation of our own solar system. ALMA recently imaged one of the youngest star systems ever seen and researchers were surprised by the data! https://www.universetoday.com//the-youngest-stellar-disk-/

We sampled an asteroid today!!

NASA's Juno probe just finished its 29th flyby of Jupiter and the photos it sent back will blow your brain.

Hey Stargazers, hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend. While considering things we were thankful for, we thought about the Earth's habitability - a precious thing that brought us into being. But what if there were planets in the cosmos that were even better at being Earth-like than Earth - Superhabitable. A recent study is looking for those planets! Check it out! https://www.universetoday.com//the-search-for-superhabita/

We recently discovered the gas phosphine in the clouds of Venus which is truly remarkable because we know of no way to create phosphine without biology. One method to rule out a false positive or abiotic process we're unaware of is to see if a plausible amount of life would be required to create the concentrations of the gas we're seeing in the atmosphere. So, is the amount of life required to make the phosphine realistic? Find out https://www.universetoday.com//how-much-life-would-be-req/

There might be life on Venus! How do we find out for sure? We have to go back! https://www.universetoday.com//a-balloon-mission-that-cou/

X-Ray telescopes recently observed the most powerful magnetic field ever seen in the Universe. The field is so powerful, it could literally pull the atoms apart in your body...

Well...wow. That's astonishing. "It could be atmospheric chemistry. Or pollution from unseen volcanoes. But there’s a chance a not insignificant chance that scientists have made the first clear discovery of life beyond Earth."

Stargazers! So sorry to announce this but unfortunately our skies have turned very hazy - inbound smoke from wildfires. The smoke not only obscures vision but can also damage equipment so we are going to cancel the event this evening :(. Stay tuned for future Starry Nights postings here on the FB page and also by signing up to our mailing list! (use the button above) Thank you for being a part of our spacey community and see you soon! Sad Moon. Pic by Natt Kul on Flicker

STARGAZERS! We're on again tomorrow (Friday) for virtual Starry Nights which will again be hosted by our own staff member, Matthew Cimone. If you haven't yet seen one of our live streams, we use a camera at the observatory to image THROUGH the telescope so you can see what the telescope sees right from your own home (or wherever you may be.) You can tune into the stream by following the YouTube link below. We'll be live between 9pm and 10:30pm PT. Again we'll have a mix of ...planets, nebula, star clusters, and galaxies which we'll try to alternate from previous evenings depending on what's available. And there will be moderators available to answer spacey questions in the chat. See you there! SPAAAAAAACE! https://youtu.be/mMtK_FrG3qQ

Our telescope is not designed for solar (Sun) observation. But there are telescopes specifically designed to look into the blinding light of the Sun to see the swirling maelstrom of its surface. A recently upgraded telescope in Europe just took one of the most detailed images of a sunspot ever captured. https://www.universetoday.com//a-sunspot-revealed-in-incr/

Photo of the Orion Nebula taken from our observatory printed onto a pair of Chucks. Print done by Baggins Shoes

It's Star Trek Day! Star Trek first aired on this date in 1966. One of our staffers, Matthew Cimone, is currently producing a documentary, Chasing Atlantis, which interviewed several cast members of Star Trek and shared this Star Trek featurette today! Chasing shot several interviews at our Observatory including with Dr. Howard Trottier himself! Enjoy the video and Live Long and Prosper!

Quick screen grab from tonight's virtual Starry Nights! Thank you to all who joined in! See you again soon!

Stargazers! Forecast looks good for tomorrow so we're up for Virtual Starry Nights again Hooray! When: Friday Sept 4, 9:00pm - 10:30pm Where: https://youtu.be/Xu5PeP9qMCs... Our host will be observatory staff-member Matthew Cimone who hosted last week as well and is hoping for fewer clouds this time around! See you there! If you have a fav object you'd like as a potential target, let us know (if it's available to see at that time/date). AND if you have a friend in your life who you think would appreciate a tour of the galaxy (and beyond), be sure to share the link with them! SPAAAAAAAAAACE!

Millions of years ago, our night sky may have been filled with supernovae. All this time later, we're still flying through the debris which we're finding, all over the planet. https://www.universetoday.com//the-solar-system-has-been-/

Hey Stargazers!! We're go for Virtual Starry Nights tonight live streaming the universe right to your house. The stream starts at 9pm PT and runs until 10:30 PT. Come see us image planets and Nebula right before your eyes live! Use the link below! SPAAAAACE! https://youtu.be/PoG0z48otn8