MegaCam Eyes Wide Open on the Sky at the Canada-France-Hawaiʻi Telescope

In this Shadow the Scientists session for guests at the Maunakea Visitor Information Station, participants will experience how observations are carried out with MegaCam using the Queued Service Observing mode from Canada-France-Hawaiʻi Telescoopeʻs (CFHT) remote control room in Waimea. With the session taking place at the beginning of the evening, participants may even witness the opening of the observatory as the night begins.

CFHT is a 3.6-meter telescope facility located on the summit of Maunakea, conducting astronomical observations with five instruments in the optical and near-infrared. Its most widely used instrument, MegaCam, is a powerful wide-field optical imager capable of capturing a one-square-degree patch of sky, collecting light from objects ranging from asteroids and planets to nebulae and distant galaxies.

Weather permitting, we will shadow the Remote Observers (RO) as they manage the full observing process from monitoring summit conditions and ensuring observatory safety to pointing the telescope, executing science observations, and generating the nightly report.

Join us for a rare, behind-the-scenes look at astronomy in action, where you won’t just learn about observing but experience it as it happens alongside working scientists!