Welcome to the Burke-Gaffney Observatory!

Check the links below:

✨ If you're interested in observing the skies through Burke-Gaffney Observatory telescope at Saint Mary's University, join us for a free public open house or contact us for a private group tour! The Upcoming Events page lists the upcoming public events.

📚 For students, find information about your projects and whether the Observatory is open for you tonight on the Students page.

🔭 Our telescope is the only telescope in the world connected to social media in a way that allows anyone in the world to use it - for free! Find more about this Robotic Telescope interface on our website.

💻 For more information about the Observatory including technical information, consult our About pages, including information about Dr. David Lane. 

🗞️ Find more news items on our News page.

📨 You can contact the Burke-Gaffney Observatory by email or phone and more, found on the Contact Us page.

Image of the colourful aurora (reds and greens) on the sky behind the Burke-Gaffney Observatory dome.

Photo above by PhD Astronomy student & BGO Telescope Operator Devin Williams on the night of October 10, 2024.

Image inside the Burke-Gaffney Observatory dome with white ceilings and blue coloured walls. The white and black telescope is being pointed to by Tiffany Fields, Astronomy Technician, wearing yellow and Dr. Vincent Henault-Brunet looks onward as well, wearing white.

Welcome to the BGO!

We are an education, outreach and research observatory located in Halifax, NS, Canada operated by the department of Astronomy and Physics in the Faculty of Science at Saint Mary's University.

We are one of only three (associated) observatories in the world, along with the nearby Mini-Robotic Observatory and the Abbey Ridge Observatory, that can be controlled by social medias like Mastodon, Facebook Messenger, Email, Cell phone text messaging, and a dedicated App in a fully-automatic way!

At this site, you will find information about the observatory, how to visit us, and how to use it for your astronomy classes.