Guests waiting to enter the Observatory on what was scheduled to be the final night of public viewing, Aug 24 2013 |
Dear Friends,
The Dominion Astrophysical Observatory will be open for public observing
on seven Saturday nights this summer.
The
grounds of the DAO will open from 8:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. for the Saturday
night observing sessions on July 5, 12 and 19, August 2, 9 and 16, and
September 6.
On these
evenings, volunteers will use their telescopes to show visitors the Moon,
planets, stars and other objects in the sky. As well, these evenings will
include audio-visual presentations and astronomy lectures inside the historic
Plaskett Telescope. These inside activities will take place regardless of the
weather conditions.
The
National Research Council of Canada is providing its astronomical facilities with the help of volunteers from the Royal Astronomy Society of Canada (RASC). The evenings are being held at no cost to the general public. Space is limited, arrive early to avoid disappointment.
While the Centre of the Universe
educational centre will not be open during these evenings, the NRC is making it
available this summer for space-themed camps for young people from Grade 3 to 8
run by the Science Venture program at the University of Victoria.
This year, Science Venture and the Victoria Centre of
the RASC are offering programs, and it is hoped that in the coming months a new
organization will be established to operate programs at the Centre of the
Universe.
Congratulations to RASC-Victoria, the NRC and all the friends of the Saanich Observatory!