The night skies beckon astronomers from far and wide

February 25, 2014 · 0 Comments

“Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”
― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
By Mark Pavilons
Ever since early man glanced towards the heavens, we wondered about those pinholes in the fabric of night.
When Galileo – the father of observational astronomy – improved the telescope, he changed our perspective on the universe. And those celestial wonders continue to captivate us.
A group of astronomers has chosen King’s Cold Creek Conservation Area as its base of operations, pointing their modern telescopes toward the constellations.
According to Marc Fitkin, of New Eyes Old Skies, local amateur astronomers have been setting up at Cold Creek for some time. They like the spot because it’s rural and in close proximity to urban centres in the GTA.
A formal agreement was made to run astronomy and birding programs at Cold Creek after the group’s resident birder, Steve Owen, made contact with Shirly Girot at Cold Creek.
“The partnership benefits both the Stewardship and New Eyes Old Skies as it draws more people to Cold Creek and our retail business,” Fitkin said.
Their initial public astronomy session in January drew a few people but skies were variable and no telescopes were set up that night.
The group is holding another public session March 8.
Fitkin finds Cold Creek an “oasis.”
“Cold Creek’s proximity to the GTA makes it a convenient escape from the busy life, a place to relax, hike, snow shoe, cross-country ski and just take in the landscape,” he observed.
New Eyes Old Skies has been running their astronomy program for roughly a year and the group consists of a mixed demographic of adults and children eager to learn and explore the night sky.
Their events typically consist of astronomers setting up equipment in the playing field next to the picnic area. This winter the program consists of an informal presentation to get people acquainted with the night sky and astronomy equipment.
As far as hobbies go, while astronomy has fierce competition for time from video game platforms, nothing beats a real time view of Saturn or Jupiter through a telescope. Recent advances in DSLR cameras and lower prices for telescopes have made astrophotography a very popular endeavor for many new astronomers.
Fitkin noted interest in astronomy has grown, mainly due to the influx of information.
“Many of us are ‘Internet astronomers,’ as we can download images directly from NASA (Hubble) and because of social media, have unprecedented capacity to share information, images and astronomy/scientific journals that was unheard of 15 or 20 years ago.
“Yet, no matter how you look at it, nothing competes with going out with other astronomers for the live view of the Moon, planets and deep sky objects!”
Fitkin said there’s been a host of recent discoveries that continue to pique interests. But these interests vary.
“Many of us take great interest in the origins of the universe and our solar system. Others stay tuned to recent discoveries such as new comets, the discovery of extra-solar planets, star birth, supernovas … the list is endless. Others just like to look up at the sky!”
Fitkin and Bruce Engels are the astronomy and sport optic specialists at retail outlet of New Eyes Old Skies. Their combined astronomy experience of 47 years, in addition to 11 years of birding and a lifetime of photography at all levels, assure that the instruction classes they oversee, whether in store or on site, create an unforgettable experience.
They pride themselves in their association through presentations and general interaction with the North York Astronomical Association and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.
If you’d like to find out more about the astronomy sessions, call 905-883-9191 or visit neweyesoldkies.com.