Over 40 people attended the County of Brant and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Hamilton Centre club\u2019s Astronomy: The Sky Tonight event on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026.<\/p>\n
Typically held in Scotland, Ont. this was the first time the event was taking place in Paris.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did the event once pre-pandemic, and then slowly brought it back,\u201d said Djordje Petrovic, recreation coordinator for the County of Brant. \u201cWe usually have it in Scotland, but there was some interest in bringing it here to Paris. We\u2019ve done it four or five times now and it\u2019s always had a great turnout.\u201d The event drew in a selection of astronomy enthusiasts to Green Lane Sports Complex for a night of exploring beyond Earth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jane Tumbin, President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Hamilton Centre club, said part of what attracts people to astronomy is the unknown of it all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just the wonder of the night sky, it\u2019s beautiful to look at and I think we all have some curiosity about what lies beyond our planet,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople know the basics, they know where to find the moon and they can typically find the Big Dipper, but there\u2019s always that question of, \u2018What should I learn next about the sky? What\u2019s the next amazing thing I can see?\u2019 There\u2019s a real human desire to explore and keep going further.\u201d<\/p>\n
With four amateur astronomers from the club on hand with their telescopes, Tumbin said the event offered attendees an opportunity to connect with others who share their interest and learn from their experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially for the people that have telescopes, this is a great opportunity to get some help and guidance about what to look for next and how to use the equipment,\u201d said Tumbin. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting to have a good turnout too because we love to share our knowledge and help people along their own journey in discovering the night sky.\u201d<\/p>\n
During the event, longtime club member Ed Mizzi shared his knowledge of space with visitors, explaining Earth\u2019s size in relation to other planets, stars and galaxies, how light travels through space and time, and which planets are visible at different times of the year, noting that the moon and Saturn were the primary viewing points for the evening.<\/p>\n
\u201cSaturn\u2019s light takes about 70 minutes to get to our eyes,\u201d said Mizzi. \u201cThat means that if something hit Saturn and made a big explosion, we wouldn\u2019t see it for 70 minutes even though light travels so fast. What I\u2019m getting at here is that everything you see in the night sky is in the past and telescopes are like time machines. They can bring you closer to more distant objects, and that to me is just amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
From Dobsonian to Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes, smart scopes and refractors, there were all sorts of different types of equipment for people to peek through.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While many spent their time looking at the different shadows, mountain ranges and craters on the moon, others were truly wowed by the sight of Saturn and the moons surrounding it. Youngsters on site spent their time excitedly racing from telescope to telescope, while even the adults were heard whispering, \u201cWow, it\u2019s just incredible\u201d to themselves.<\/p>\n
Paris residents Parker Williams, 12, and his father were one of the many in attendance at the event. The two brought along their own Dobsonian telescope and were happy to let others use it to see the rings of Saturn and its surrounding moons.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had it for like, two years, and we like to bring it with us when we go camping,\u201d said Williams.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Noting it was their first time attending one of the County\u2019s local astronomy events, the youngster thought it was cool, and enjoyed getting to look through the other telescopes on-site.<\/p>\n
When asked what he liked about astronomy, Williams said there were a few things that caught his interest. \u201cI forget how I fell in love with it, but it\u2019s something I\u2019ve really liked since I was eight or nine,\u201d he said. \u201cI like that space is mysterious. There\u2019s a lot unknown out there and it\u2019s cool to see things that a lot of people don\u2019t get to see everyday.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of 30 centres across Canada, the Hamilton Centre astronomy club offers regular, you and family memberships.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf people are interested they can join our club and come to some of our events, but we also have a lending program. That\u2019s always great because if someone is in the market for a telescope but doesn\u2019t know what to buy, if they\u2019re part of the club, then they can borrow a whole variety of telescopes to try them out first,\u201d said Tumbin. \u201cThere are different aspects to astronomy, you could do visual or astrophotography, so depending on what route they\u2019re interested in going in, or what they want to look at, we can give them guidance and let them test out different equipment before they sink all their money into something that isn\u2019t right for them. We also have an observatory just north of Waterdown that is open to the public on Saturday nights for people to come and look through the scopes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Correction: “Astronomy” has been corrected from “astrology” in one instance.<\/p>\n