Look ahead, and look up!
The Pembina Valley Astro Club is giving us a glimpse into what the new year will provide for stargazers, and all the other celestial enthusiasts.
2026 has already started off with a Super Wolf Moon in January, while February will bring a Snow Moon, so the skies are already rich with viewing opportunities.
Pembina Valley Astro Club founder Kenton Dyck spoke about his own viewing of the new year’s early super moon.
“I had some friends over, and we snuck outside for a little bit to watch it. Jupiter was up there, super bright. So yeah, it’s starting off with that.”
There’s even more to come. Dyck talked about sightings and events on the 2026 celestial calendar that we can all look forward to.
“We will have a couple of meteor showers and eclipses this year. Unfortunately, we won’t have a complete solar eclipse anywhere near our area. Those are always really fun to look at, as well as the lunar eclipses.
The planet Saturn photographed by Kenton Dyck
“In the springtime, there is a fantastic opportunity to view some of the planets, particularly Saturn and Jupiter – among the two brightest objects. Just go outside. If you have even a rudimentary pair of binoculars, you should be able to see them.”
The stars offer a twinkly show
Dyck expanded on upcoming events to be on the lookout for, later in the year.
“So, we have the planets right now. It’s always difficult to start hyping stuff about eight months in advance simply because I have found, particularly the last two years, is you can make plans, but some of the most successful and the most memorable events that we have had have been events that we couldn’t plan for. We only know about them literally as they enter our solar system.”
That unpredictability affords unique viewing experiences. Dyck shared more of the variety of images that can be viewed throughout the various seasons.
“The night sky has certain cycles throughout the year. Typically this time of year, you can image a lot of nebulas. As we get into the early spring, then it’s galaxy season. The way the heavens kind-of shift, we can see different things. There just happens to be some targets that are more abundant during certain times of year.”
New gear, new views
Dyck described some recent Astro Club equipment purchases that will enhance his image capture capabilities.
“This year, we have the ability to record events. I’m really looking forward to that. In the future, if we were to have an actual solar eclipse that we could witness, we now have ways to capture that. I’m pretty excited about that.
“One of the new pieces of gear that I have picked up is an astrophotography camera that has a neat feature where if you thread on a particular type of lens, it’ll give you a 150-degree view of the sky, 360 degrees around.
“I can load in some software and I can tailor it to capture certain things. One of the things that we will be using it for is capturing auroras. We’ll be able to set it outside and it’ll just record.”
Automation brings benefits
It gets even more advanced. Dyck described the automation features his new equipment offers.
“One of the other things we can do is build in software where it’s constantly recording about 15 seconds, and then something triggers motion through that camera. Then it will record the last 15 seconds and save that. I’s constantly recording 15 seconds, but only when something transits and trips that motion sensor, then it records those 15 seconds and saves it.
“So what we’re going to be doing with that is all of the meteor showers that we have will be able to set this up outside at night. It’ll record all night and instead of having a massive file, you’ll only have the parts where there was actually motion through there.”
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Dyck admitted that it can be a waiting game.
“I’m just waiting for a couple of clear nights so that we can actually go out and image, because it’s been quite stormy and foggy the last month or so.”
Pembina Valley Astro Club founder Kenton Dyck
Dyck is always keen to build the sky-viewing community, as well as continue to host events to support local businesses, like Dead Horse Cider, and Jurassic Clubhouse.
“I like to work with people in this area simply because if we go to say Charlie B’s Dead Horse Cider or any of these eateries, people know these establishments. They know that they’re run locally. These are our neighbors.
“It’s nice to gather more as a community. And I can’t think of a better place for us to gather, to get together and just appreciate the night sky. I am very excited to continue some of those relationships”
There are a few new relationships in the works as well, Dyck shared.
“One of the things that’s been very exciting is I feel that the Astro Club, the word is kind-of getting out. I’ve had invites to go all the way to Neepawa, Stonewall, the Whiteshell. We’ll see where Astro Club goes.”
Pembina Valley Astro Club fosters a love of astronomy by making the wonders of the cosmos accessible through public events, educational outreach, and community engagement.
Visit their Instagram site to get connected, or email astroclubpv@gmail.com.
with files from Jayme Giesbrecht