Events & Outreach
Public Stargazing Night at Bayfront Park this Saturday July 9th
Join the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers at Bayfront park for a evening of stargazing and planet viewing. Starting at 9:00pm knowledgeable club members will be onhand to answer questions so bring yourself and your family. Gaze through telescopes at celestial wonders; Jupiter, Mars, Saturn and more!
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Public Stargazing Night at Bayfront Park this Saturday May 14th
To celebrate Astronomy Day this year, join the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers at Bayfront park for an afternoon of solar observing and evening of stargazing. Solar telescopes will be setup to observe the disk of the sun, sunspots and solar flares. Later that evening, cast your gaze upon the night sky for a complete astronomy experience. Knowledgeable club members will be onhand to answer questions so bring yourself and your family.
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This April 23rd the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers will be holding their public scope clinic and open house. Telescopes of all types will be setup, amateur astronomers will be available to answer questions, talk about equipment, observing and anything astronomy related. The scope clinic is a great way to get introduced to astronomy, where to start, and learn about the hobby.
Join the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers at T.B. McQuesten Park this April 16th for a public stargazing night. Telescopes will be setup and club members will be available to answer astro-questions. Public stargazing nights are a great way to look at the universe in a friendly environment; bring yourself, your family and friends!
T.B.McQuesten Park
1199 Upper Wentworth St, Hamilton
7:30 – 11:00pm
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Subject to weather conditions.
Come join the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers for a night under the stars. This March 19th we will be holding a public stargazing night at the Niagara Gateway Tourism Centre between 7:30 – 11:00pm. Our friendly club members will have telescopes setup where you can ask questions and gaze upon celestial objects of interest; The Moon, Jupiter, Orion constellation, etc.
Niagara Gateway Tourism Centre
424 South Service Rd., Grimsby
7:30 – 11:00pm
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Subject to weather conditions.
This August 11th the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers aim to host another Perseids Meteor Shower Public Viewing Night. However, events like these require the support of club members and so we’re calling upon any and all club members who would like to help make this night a success. We’re looking for volunteers to fill basic roles such as…
- Meeting cars as they enter the park
- Direct traffic to parking spaces
- Generally help where needed
If you are interested in helping please send an email to Jim Wamsley, chair@amateurastronomy.org.
We had another successful public stargazing night, this time at T.B. McQuesten Park on the Hamilton mountain Sat 23 May 2015. We had some thin cirrus clouds to start the night off, but they didn’t impair viewing of the Moon, Venus and Jupiter – all well positioned in the western sky after sunset. Eventually they dissipated and we had pretty good seeing.
The HAA celebrated Astronomy Day this year at Bayfront Park in Hamilton. We had excellent weather with crystal clear seeing during the day and minimal light clouds during the evening.
Skies were clear and the ‘seeing’ was fantastic for our first public stargazing event of 2015. Club members shared detailed views of the Moon & Jupiter with passersby and visitors who came to the Niagara Gateway Tourism Centre.
Jim Wamsley had his telescope connected to the HAA’s video cam and flat screen. This is a great way to point out various lunar features to guests.
Bernie offered views of Comet Lovejoy through his refractor. Lise managed to find M42 in spite of the light pollution and mechanical problems with her scope’s mount.
I was impressed by spectacular views of the Moon & Jupiter through Tony’s & Mike’s refractors. It’s a treat to peer through a well made refractor.
My 6″ Skywatcher Dobsonian reflector is an excellent beginner’s scope and always a hit with people looking for their first telescope. I spent the evening showing several budding amateur astronomers how it works and what excellent views it provides.
I only managed to stay for a couple of hours before the cold wind got to me, but I enjoyed speaking to all the folks who came out to see us.
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The public night held at Bay Front Park on Saturday night turned out to be a successful event. Even though the weather conditions looked threatening right up to the 7:30 start time of the club’s public night, we lucked out in the end. Just moments before 7:30 the skies cleared and stayed clear for the most part. I counted 8 scopes setup, both members and one scope brought by a couple with a scope they had just purchased, and needed help to setup and use. Of course they got the help from several club members. We didn’t get the crowds we get at some public events, due to the cold temp’s and the cloud cover before we started, but I think we still had 35 to 40 people come out to see us, as well as many members that came out without a scope. Several members gathered at a local Tim’s for coffee later of course, and discussed the fun time we all had.
