The Observatoire Astronomique du Mont-Mégantic is located at an altitude of 1,100m and was inaugurated in 1978. First and foremost, it is a research centre in astronomy. It is administered by both the Université de Montréal, the Université Laval and Université McGill. Its telescope, which holds a 1.6m mirror and weights almost 24 tons, makes it the most important observatory of North America's East Coast.