Aug 08, 2013


The official grand opening of North Frontenac Dark Skies Preserve took place on August 3 and attracted a good crowd of enthusiasts, many of whom set up some very sizable telescopes in preparation for a evening of spectacular night viewing.

North Frontenac Councilor Betty Hunter, who chaired the Economic Development Task Force, the group who worked to make the preserve a reality, said the idea to create such a preserve had been in the works for almost a decade. “It began over 10 years ago when Will Cybulski [a former North Frontenac councilor] and I began speaking about what we could do to promote the dark skies in this area. Years later I helped organize a task force and with the help of a few local astronomers in the area, along with members of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada we got together and after a lot of work finally got the job done.”

Hunter opened the event by thanking members of North Frontenac Council and the Economic Task Force, local astronomers Gary Coldwell, Guy Nason, Robert Dick, Andy and Terrence Dickinson.

Mayor Bud Clayton also spoke at the event, saying that the new preserve was built under the heading of eco-tourism from federal gas tax money through the County of Frontenac, at a cost of $41,000.

Robert Dick is manager of the Canadian Dark Sky Preserve Program and a member of the Royal Astronomical Society. His expertise as the chair of the society’s Light Pollution Abatement Committee was sought by the township’s task force regarding the project. Dick also spoke at the event and explained that although the North Frontenac Preserve is just one of 17 Dark Skies Preserves across Canada, it is the first municipality in the country to be designated wholly as such. Dick presented the official citation to Mayor Bud Clayton and Councilor Betty Hunter after reading it out. It stated, “In a cooperative initiative to conserve the natural dark sky as part of our heritage, the North Frontenac Township in partnership with the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada hereby designate the North Frontenac Dark Sky Preserve. Together we recognize that natural darkness is an ecological resource in need of protection and are committed to responsible lighting practices that preserve the beauty and wonder of the dark sky above the township.”

Dick went on to highlight the importance of maintaining the township’s dark skies. “Night creatures depend on the darkness so we must learn to respect the natural night environment and the creatures that inhabit it.” He spoke of dark skies as an important part of our heritage. “Four billion years of evolution have wired the need for darkness into our biology. 150 years of artificial light at night can't change our very nature...the First Nations say the night is sacred and this is very true.”

Gary Caldwell of Hamilton, who has been an amateur astronomer for the past 48 years, has built a cottage and his own personal observatory just across from the new preserve. He said he moved to the area specifically because of the dark skies.

“Seven years ago I was looking for a place in Ontario to build a cottage and I wanted three specific things: a lake, dark skies and an airport I could fly into.” Caldwell, who had his huge telescope in tow, said that he was looking for skies that were “so dark that you could see a particular galaxy (M33) with the naked eye and from here you can do just that.” Another local astronomer, Guy Nason, who also moved to the area on account of its dark skies, also spoke at the event. Nason handed out beginner astronomers’ guides titled “Getting Started in Astronomy” put out by Sky and Telescope, and encouraged those gathered on the pad to view Saturn through the many powerful telescopes set up on site.

He also mentioned that the International Space Station could be viewed just over the horizon at 9:51PM in the constellation Scorpius.

The best part of the Dark Skies opening ceremony took place well after the ceremony ended. After two days of steady cloud and rain, the sun set on a clear, moonless sky on Saturday night, giving the astronomers a prime opportunity to experience the wonder of the night sky in North Frontenac.

The location of the preserve allows for close to a 170 degree view of the sky and judging by the turnout it looks as though the North Frontenac Dark Skies Preserve will fast become a popular destination for lovers of deep space.

 

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