Gordon Southam Observatory

Gordon Southam Observatory location

Summary

The Gordon MacMillan Southam Observatory is a modest stand-alone observatory, part of the Vancouver Space Centre in Vanier Park. The Centre includes a Planetarium and other educational attractions.

It was used during filming of 2.21 "1969" to represent an observatory in New York where O'Neill and Teal'c viewed a solar flare, to confirm that the dates and times on the note from young Hammond really did correspond to upcoming solar flares. Doing so was necessary for SG-1 to schedule their trip back through the Stargate and to their own time.

Location

The Gordon Southam MacMillan Observatory is located in Vanier Park, at 1100 Chestnut St in Vancouver. It's right across English bay from Kensington Place and Sunset Park. The Observatory building itself is small compared with the adjacent Space Centre structure, but it's big enough to house the one-half meter Cassegrain telescope mounted inside. The Observatory is open on clear Saturday nights for public viewing sessions, guided by a volunteer. The roof opens and rotates to allow pointing of the telescope.

In 2.21 "1969," SG-1 drives up to the Observatory in their psychedelic bus. O'Neill and Teal'c go inside with a reminder from Carter not to blind themselves. O'Neill is successful in aiming the telescope at the Sun and catching the predicted solar flare. The interior shown in the episode appears to be the actual Observatory's, perhaps redressed to make the controlling equipment look appropriate for 1969. The actual telescope was replaced in 2002, so it no longer matches what was in the episode in any case.