North Frontenac dark skies viewing event

May 14, 2015

by Betty Hunter

Once again this year we will be having planned events at the North Frontenac Star Gazing Pad. This facility is located at 5816 Road 506 between Ardoch and Fernleigh. The Pad will be available for your own group viewings once the ARCAL Lighting System has been installed at the Helipad adjacent to the Star Gazing Pad; we hope in the very near future.

The first event is being held on May 16 with a rain date of May 23. As I write this, the weather forecast is looking very good for the 16th. If you have not had the opportunity to attend one of these events let me inform you of what goes on:

Our “amateur astronomers” have been star gazing since they were young and have decades of knowledge of the dark skies and all we can see. They are our guides and teachers for these events. They bring their telescopes with them so everyone has the opportunity to see what they are talking about. It is a great interactive evening with very enthusiastic and knowledgeable teachers.

The event of May 16 twilight will start around 9pm and will start with viewing Venus and Jupiter which provides a breathtaking showing on its own. As the sky continues to darken more stars and galaxies will appear.

As written by one of our friends “This time of year the Milky Way lies right on our horizon in the evenings, so we will have to wait a few months to enjoy its treasures. Its absence now gives us an unobscured look at other galaxies besides our own. In other words spring is the Season of Galaxies. The spring constellations, especially Virgo, Coma Berenices and Leo are home to scores of galaxies of all sizes and shapes. Even though most of them are more than 50,000,000 light years away, they are well within reach of small telescopes. So they will be our main focus on the 16th.”

This event will start around 9pm and continue until all participants have left (our astronomers are accustomed to being up all night). These events are for every member of the family and provide an amazing opportunity to learn about our beautiful night skies.

There is an outhouse facility on site. Bring your lawn chairs, binoculars, telescopes (if you own one), warm clothing (as it cools down and gets damp as the evening moves on). You will also require insect repellants as the bug season has started.

Come on out and bring a friend. You won’t be disappointed. Hope to see everyone there.