An incredible view of the Universe from the city: UNamur's Astronomical Observatory acquires an exceptional telescope

After the preparation phase that began in February 2025, the UNamur Astronomical Observatory's new telescope was used for the first time at the end of May during the Nuit Blanche, delivering images of incredible quality. "This Schmidt astrograph admirably complements our already unique installation with its large-diameter solar telescope. This state-of-the-art instrument offers an enlarged field of view, better resolution, and very fast light capture," details Professor of Astrophysics, André Füzfa, coordinator of the Astronomical Observatory. "In record time, just a few minutes of exposure, we can now reveal galaxies, nebulae and other deep-sky wonders to visitors. The telescope is equipped with a 62-megapixel color camera and a highly selective anti-light pollution filter. The astrograph is so fast that a single 5-minute exposure surpasses what we used to achieve in several hours.

This telescope is first and foremost an educational tool, accessible to UNamur students of course, but also to schools, the general public and the university's partners. "Our astronomical dome and travelling equipment are used as part of practical astronomy courses, compulsory for mathematics and physics students, elective for natural philosophers and accessible to other disciplines. It is also open to international students from the European University Alliance UNIVERSEH.," Professor André Füzfa points out.

In Belgium, this is the only site accessible to the public with this exceptional observation tool, the Schmidt astrograph. "This model of wide-field telescope was primarily designed for the monitoring of the sky: space debris, satellites, comets, asteroids, ... In the event of a major collision in space, we could help to rapidly identify and characterize new debris" explains Professor André Füzfa. This new telescope in Namur will also enable new projects to be carried out between art and science, such as the assembly of a large mosaic of portions of the sky, an immortalization that can also be bequeathed to future generations as a memorial.

In 2019, we made the bold choice to deploy a dome equipped with cutting-edge instruments in the heart of the city to give everyone access to the stars and the marvelous. Six years and over 1,500 visitors later, the University of Namur renews this vow of commitment. For the love of the sky.