Events & Outreach
Find yourself the proud owner of a shiny new telescope this holiday season and not sure how to use it? Or perhaps thinking of buying one but have some questions? You’re in luck! The Hamilton Amateur Astronomers will be hosting a Scope Clinic and Open House on Saturday February 2, 2019. Held in the auditorium of the Hamilton Spectator Building, 44 Frid St Hamilton, the doors are open to the public from 1:00 – 5:00PM.
A wide variety of astronomical equipment will also be on display, including telescopes, binoculars, astro-photographic equipment, charts and meteorites! Bring your own telescope to get tips and pointers on using it, or help fixing it if it is in need of repair.
Admission is free so bring your family and friends!
Location:
Hamilton Spectator Building
44 Frid St, Hamilton
When:
Saturday, February 2nd, 1:00 – 5:00pm
Food Share Donations:
Donations of non-perishable food for the Hamilton Food Share program will be collected at this meeting. Please drop off any items at the drop-box located near the entrance of the auditorium. All donations gratefully accepted and thanks to your generosity we’ve collected thousands of pounds of food since we began. Let’s keep up the great work as the need continues.
Photo credit: John Gauvreau
Mark your calendars! Join the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers on November 16 at 6:00 PM for our Fall workshop. As with our spring event, there will be several speakers discussing various aspects of astronomy and how to get the most out of this very rewarding hobby. As always, be sure to bring your questions and curiosity as there will be several knowledgeable amateur astronomers available to help you start out in astronomy, take it to the next level, or perhaps give you some holiday gift ideas for the amateur astronomer in your life.
The schedule of speakers is as follows;
6:00 PM – Jim Wamsley, Meteorite Display (this will be an on going display throughout the evening)
6:30 PM – Barry Shermann, Introduction to Telescope Types
7:00 PM – Bernie Venasse, Choosing the Right Star Atlas
7:30 PM – Kevin Salwach, Binoculars for Astronomy
8:00 PM – Sue MacLachlan, The Astronomers’ Library
8:30 PM – Matthew Mannering, Eyepieces and Accessories
Admission is free so bring your family and friends!
***Please note that this event will be a workshop only. The scope clinic will held in January 2019. Stay tuned for those details.
Join Us – All Welcome for the Annual Perseid Meteor Shower Event this Saturday, August 11, 2017
Free Admission
Watch the Perseids meteor shower with the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers at the Binbrook Conservation Area from 8 to 11 p.m. on Saturday August 11. Admission is free so bring the whole family for a fun evening under the stars!
Join us for a BBQ and Star Party to celebrate the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers 25th Anniversary. After dinner there will be a brief Night Sky Tour followed by an evening of star gazing. So come prepared!
For full details and to buy your tickets online…
Photo credit: Don Pullen
Join the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers this April 7 for our Spring telescope clinic! This year our format is a little different and we’ll have scope-stations setup each covering different aspects of telescopes. Move from station to stating to get a comprehensive understanding of many telescope types, eyepieces, and approaches to astrophotography. Bring your questions and curiosity as many amateur astronomers will be on hand to help you either get into astronomy or expand your existing experience.
- 1:30pm, Barry Shermann, Introduction to Telescope Types
- 2:00pm, Matthew Mannering, Introduction to Eyepieces
- 2:30pm, Kevin Salwach, Binoculars Astronomy
- 3:00pm, Sue McLachlan, The Beginning Astronomer’s Library
- 3:30pm, Bernie Venasse, Approaches to Astrophotograhy
Admission is free so bring your family and friends!
Thinking about purchasing a telescope for Christmas? Not sure what to get or not sure how to use the scope that you have? Grab it and come to the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Scope Clinic and Open House on Friday, November 17, 2017. Held in the auditorium of the Hamilton Spectator Building, 44 Frid St Hamilton, the doors are open to the public from 5:00 till 10:00PM.
Admission is free so bring your family and friends!
The HAA 2018 Celestial Events Calendar will be available at this event.
On Monday August 21, 2017 a partial solar eclipse will be visible from Hamilton and surrounding areas. This is a wonderful opportunity to see a rare and spectacular natural event. The eclipse will last over 2½ hours, changing in appearance throughout that time, with the greatest amount of the Sun being eclipsed at 2:31 pm. At that time about 76% of the Sun will be blocked.
Join Us – All Welcome for the Annual Perseid Meteor Shower Event this August 12, 2017
Free Admission
Watch the Perseids meteor shower with the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers at the Binbrook Conservation Area from 8 to 11 p.m. on Saturday August 12. Admission is free so bring the whole family for a fun evening under the stars! There will also be a meteorite display, night sky tour and members will set-up their telescopes for observing celestial objects.
The Hamilton Amateur Astronomers’ very own John Gauvreau will be speaking at Hamilton & Grimsby Public Libraries between July and October. Well worth checking out, John covers a wide range of astronomical topics both informative and entertaining.
Be sure to visit an event near you!
- Thursday July 13 – 2:30pm – Terryberry Library. Kids show.
- Friday July 28 – 2:30pm – Red Hill Library. Kids show.
- Wednesday August 9 – 2:30pm – Barton Library. Kids show.
- Monday September 18 – 6pm – Saltfleet Library. General audience. ‘The Past, Present and Future of Planet 9’
- Tuesday September 19 – 7pm – Grimsby Library. General audience. ‘Tour of the Universe’
- Thursday September 21 – 7pm – Terryberry Library. TBA (I’m not doing this talk, Bernie is)
- Thursday September 28 – 7pm – Turner Park Library. General audience. ‘The Past, Present and Future of Planet 9’
- Thursday October 5 – 7pm – Westday Library. General audience. ‘The Past, Present and Future of Planet 9’
Public Solar Observing Event at Confederation Park, June 24th
Join the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers at Confederation Park for an evening of solar viewing. Fun and educational for the whole family, club members will be on-hand to answer cosmic questions. Telescopes will be setup to view our closest star through.
Continue Reading