Astronomy Day is an international science education and outreach event head annually in April of each year. Many RASC Centres will be celebrating the day with special activities and events that you are welcome to come out to!
Highlights this year are an impressive waxing Moon, the planet Jupiter and the amazing planet Saturn.
Here are just some of the Astronomy Day events on offer from East to West across the country:
St. John's, Newfoundland
The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, St. John’s Centre, in conjunction with The Johnson Geo Centre is pleased to be hosting International Astronomy Day Saturday, April 20th at the Johnson Geo Centre on Signal Hill, St. John’s NL.
The public is invited to drop by any time after 2:00 p.m. , where, (weather permitting), we will have telescopes set up in the parking lot to view the Sun by day, the Moon by dusk, followed by the Planet Jupiter, star clusters and nebula after dark. Also in the afternoon we plan to have a planetarium show in the Celestial Gallery area inside the Geo Centre, and if cloudy, a meet and greet in the Reception Hall on the lower level.
For more info please visit; www.stjohnsrasc.ca/
Saint John, New Brunswick
Display at Lancaster Mall
For the morning and afternoon, local amateur astronomers will have various telescopes, posters and material on display, and will be eager to answer any questions about stargazing.
Stargazing at Rockwood Park!
Date: Saturday, April 20, 2013 (weather permitting)
Time: 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Location: Rockwood Park "Bark Park" parking lot (Fisher Lakes entrance to the park)
Local amateur astronomers will have several telescopes for sharing views of planets and the stars. See craters and mountains on the Moon; Jupiter and its moons in action, including the shadow of a moon on Jupiter's clouds; Saturn and its rings; star clusters; the Orion Nebula where stars are forming; constellation tours, and maybe a comet. Come over to the dark skies - we have cookies and hot chocolate.
Montreal, Quebec
Interested in the night sky? Curious about our universe? Do you want to learn more about astronomy?
Then come out and join the members of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada’s Montreal Centre at the Morgan Arboretum in Ste-Ann-de-Bellevue on April 20th. We will be celebrating International Astronomy Day 2013 by offering a free public lecture“Introduction to Astronomy” and with the weather permitting, an under the stars “Sky Tour” and “Star Party”
The lecture will commence indoors at 20:00 and then be followed by a “Sky Tour” and public “Star Party” (weather permitting). Regardless of the weather, the RASC Montreal Centre’s Bellevue Observatory will be open for sightseeing and tours.
Bring your binoculars, telescopes or just your curiosity.
All events are free and open to the public, any donations will be warmly accepted.
Please help support the RASC Montreal Centre and the Bellevue Observatory.
More details visit: rascmontreal.org
Ottawa, Ontario
The RASC Ottawa Centre holds its Astronomy Day Events in conjunction with the Canada Science and Technology Museum at 1867 St Laurent Blvd, Ottawa, Ontario K1G 5A3
Daytime events are from 10:00am to 4:00 and evening events are from 8:00pm to 9:30pm
Greater Toronto Area
The RASC Toronto Centre will be celebrating International Astronomy Day at the David Dunlap Observatory in Richmond Hill. Home to the largest optical telescope in Canada, the DDO is celebrating with an evening open house between 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Visitors’ $2.00 donations at the door will be used to help maintain the beautiful 1935 facility and support the education and public outreach programs offered at the Dunlap Observatory.
For more information about the 2013 season schedule and upcoming special events, visit www.theDDO.ca. For more information on the evening open house visit https://rascto.ca/.
Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario - Saturday, April 27th
On Saturday April 27 the KW Centre is hosting a star party at Picnic Area # 9 in Waterloo Park, Waterloo. It will start at dusk and run until 10 PM. All are welcome.
In the event of rain the party will be posponed until the following Saturday May 4.
Thunder Bay, Ontario
Regina, Saskatchewan
The RASC Regina Centre will be hosting Astronomy Day events at the Saskachewan Science Centre. For more information on the program – which goes both Saturday and Sunday visit https://www.sasksciencecentre.com/events-calendar.
Activities
- 12pm to 4pm - Solar Observing
- 12:30pm - Our Solar System, Milky Way and the Universe Beyond with Chris Beckett
- 1:30pm to 3pm - Star Lab Planetarium Demonstrations
- 3pm - The Night Sky, Stars, Constellations & Planets
- 4pm - Astronomy at the Cypress Hills by Mark Walker
- 8pm to 10pm - Dome Tours and member Telescope Views outside IMAX
Edmonton, Alberta
The RASC Edmonton Centre will be out on the streets of Edmonton and St. Albert bringing FREE astronomy to the people! Dates are April 19 and 20 (Fri/Sat) from 8:30 to 11:00 pm.
We’ll be setup in the following locations (click on the link for a google maps):
You can check that go/no go status of these events on via the web site at http://edmontonrasc.com/public/ and via twitter at by following @EdmontonRASC.
Full details can be found here on the website here:
http://edmontonrasc.com/public/astroday/astronomyday.html
Sunshine Coast, British Columbia
The Sunshine Coast Centre will host Astronomy Day at the Sunnycrest Mall in Gibson's BC. A Booth will be set up inside the mall featuring printed material, a computer presentation and Telescopes of various kinds. Outside the Mall a number of Solar Scopes will be set up for safe public viewing. We will there from 10am until 4pm.