The 32" (0.8m) Cassegrain telescope installed on the roof of University
of Victoria's new science building in Victoria, British Columbia, is the largest telescope
located on a university campus in Canada.
The light gathering capability of th3 32" mirror size makes it the country's fifth largest
overall.
The presence of both the Astronomy
Group at University of Victoria and the NRC
Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics gives Victoria one of the largest concentration of astronomers
in Canada. This community offers a diversity of research opportunities unparalleled elsewhere
in Canada.
 DFM
team members Justus and Jim spent a week driving the telescope out from the manufacturing headquarters
in Colorado and dealt admirably with the complicated border crossing into Canada.
 In
July of 2010, Dr. Russell Robb at the University of Victoria took delivery of the new DFM 32" telescope.
Ian Huss, DFM's Production Manager, met them on site for the installation. The crane work and
installation proceeded so smoothly that Ian thought this was almost like a vacation.
The observatory, on the 5th floor of the new physics building addition, should provide easy access
for the astronomers, students and the public.
 The
university campus, new building and observatory are delightful. The attention to detail in the building
preparations will be appreciated by future users for years to come.
The telescope will be used for teaching undergraduate students and for research.
The University of Victoria astronomers are world-renowned for their research involving the formation
of galaxies, stellar structure and evolution, and theoretical and observational cosmology.
"We'll be using it to look for asteroids passing close to Earth and for planets crossing
in front of stars," says Dr. Robb, senior lab instructor and senior scientific assistant in University
of Victoria's Department of Physics and Astronomy. "We are looking forward to many long nights
with our new DFM telescope!"
The telescope will also be available to the public on Wednesday nights.
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