Dominion Astrophysical Observatory - Victoria, B.C. Canada - Astronomical Observatories on Waymarking.com

The three telescopes that are located up here on Observatory Hill are the 1.8-metre optical/near-infrared Plaskett Telescope, named after Observatory founder John Stanley Plaskett, the 1.2-metre telescope with its McKellar spectrograph (named for the Canadian astronomer who identified hydrocarbons in interstellar space in the 1930s), and a 40-cm telescope.

The Plaskett and the 1.2 Metre telescopes are used every clear night for research which amounts to about 200 times a year. Of those 2, the most interesting is the Plaskett. The Plaskett was built for $250,000 dollars (About $4 Million in todays dollars) and was huge undertaking for a country that was just over 50 years old. It initially put Canada on the map in the Astrophysical sciences and has continually contributed to the understanding of Space over its 90 years of use.

During the summer, tours of the Plaskett are available through the nearby 'Centre of the Universe' museum for a fee. On Saturday nights, a program is presented (again, for a fee) that will introduce you to the stars and on occasion, will have the public view objects with the Plaskett.

Some interesting facts:
The 1.8 Metre (72 inch) mirror weights 4000 pounds. It has been replaced in an upgrade and the original mirror is on display in the foyer of the museum.
The optical view piece was removed a few years ago and replaced with a high quality, high definition video camera.
The dome is very cold inside as they maintain low temperatures to prevent heat waves when they start the night's observations. (Take a sweater with you if you take the tour)

Information for this waymark came from the official website along with a personal visit when we took the tour May 24th, 2008. (I recommend it)

If you participated in an observing session, let everyone know what you saw!