Tampere Observatory 

Welcome

Astronomical Club Tampereen Ursa is made up of an active group of about 350 people who all share interest in stargazing, or more scientific approach to the nightsky and space.

Our dome and premises are located at the roof of water tower at City Recreational Sporting area called Kauppi. Location on the map with Etusivu.

When the weather permits, our Celestron Edge HD 1100 (at wintertime) and Lunt LS100T H-alfa solar telescope (at summertime) are used for observations. And in every case our planetarium programs can let you see the sky as it is behind the cloud cover and learn about interesting events and phenomena. Beats the staying at the hotel easily.

Feel free to check out our site and give us a line telling about your impressions, about your local hobbyists or deep serious observers and activities. You are most welcome!

Visiting Tampere?

Do not hesitate to contact us. Public presentations are held on Sundays from October through March except short break Christmastime. The presentations was only performed in clear weather! 

Most our presentation's guides speak English satisfactorily but shows are in Finnish!

If you know you are coming to Tampere, and either have time to spend or maybe you -as a fellow astronomy enthusiats- would like to contribute by holding a lecture. Please let us know of your interest!

Surprise your host and take the discussions to the next level

Maybe you're staying a while and you'd like to show what you'd like to see after all those regular restaurant dinners? Done so all so many times?

Reserve a visit to the Observatory for your group. Your visit can easily be customized for your specific needs and interests. Presentations are held on reservation basis to groups from schools to businesses and clubs.

Northern Lights in Tampere

Sometimes observatory visiting foreign persons are waiting to see the Northern Lights!

However, Northern Lights are not nightly event this south, so do not expect to see them, but sometimes we're lucky to get to observe the phenomena.

A good winter, we can see the northern lights as during twenty nights. Often, however, the northern lights are not quite as spectacular as in Lapland, but the lack of a better moderate northern lights can be thrilling if the person has not previously been seen in the northern lights. During couple of nights in a decade we see a really amazing auroras, but this happens only when the solar sunspot activity has passed its maximum.

Activities

We offer our members a wide range of activities such as membership nights, lectures and hobby-related courses.

During the winter season (September to April), we publish weekly newsletters for members about upcoming events and activities. During the summertime the club activities are at lowest, since only lunar or solar observations are possible. Check back for more information about scheduling.

Facilities and equipment are actively used by members

Generally, our facilities and equipment is available without charge for trusted well-known members. So usually there is activity up at the observatory, even if down at the ground level the door would be closed outside public access hours.

Of course, an observer working at the observatory cannot be required to suspend their project in order to host unexpected visitors, so visits outside public opening hours are only possible by prior arrangement. The best way to reach us is by email.

Networking around the world

Let us know if you visited our site and let's share links to each other's sites.