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Toronto Centre Reopens David Dunlap Observatory to Public
By Denis Grey, Karen Mortfield, Toronto
Jul 21, 2009, 11:20
By Denis Grey, Karen Mortfield, Toronto
Jul 21, 2009, 11:20
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| RASC members set up to greet visitors to the DDO, Photo by Fred Lum |
More than two dozen volunteers from the Toronto Centre turned out to help coordinate the event and also to provide viewing opportunities for the public. A new 100 mm eyepiece provided courtesy of Orion Telescopes and Binoculars was used for public viewing of planetary nebula M57 and globular cluster M13. The new eyepiece provided excellent views for the public when the skies cleared at about 10:00 pm. In addition to the usual lecture room the actual dome at the DDO was used as a presentation space with information on the current object of interest being projected onto the dome's interior using Starry Night software.
An added bonus for visitors involved an impromptu trip outside the Observatory to watch the ISS/STS-127 do a flyby over the big dome. We can thank NASA/CSA for that well timed moment.
DDO Committee Chair Paul Mortfield noted that the tremendously positive response from visitors suggests the Observatory may have its most important years still ahead. "It's exciting to be able to offer members of the public their first astronomy experience through the largest optical telescope in Canada," said Paul. "These are tomorrow's RASC members and leaders of our scientific community." School tours and teacher training workshops begin in the fall at the David Dunlap Observatory.
Meanwhile public tours are continuing during the summer on Saturday nights. For information and reservations please visit www.theddo.ca.