Astronomy Club to have Astronomy Day Display

Athena Astronomy Club to hold Astronomy Day Display

S. Ryan Quigley

Journal Pioneer

CAPTION: Randall Affleck and his daughter Katie look at a star chart at his home in Bedeque. Randall is the president of the Athena Astronomy Club, which is holding their Astronomy Day Display May 7 at Credit Union Place. Photo QUIGLEY/ JOURNAL PIONEER

SUMMERSIDE- Randall Affleck’s favourite constellation is one you can see without binoculars and telescopes and it’s named Pleiades. It’s also the reason he became part of the Athena Astronomy Club.

“I also named my cow Pleiades,” he said.

Affleck is the president of the Athena Community Astronomy Club, which is holding it’s annual Astronomy Day Display at the Credit Union Place on May 7.

The club will be bringing in equipment they use, such as star charts and telescopes as well as distributing planispheres, which are charts to help identify what is in the sky and where.

Anyone is welcome to come to the event and the club members will be there for anyone looking to discuss astronomy, said Affleck.

“It’s to build interest and excitement in the community regarding astronomy and welcome people that are curious about it or interested there are a group of us that are also interested in the night sky and what is out there.”

The day is a “community outreach” for the group, who are always ready to welcome anyone new, said Affleck.

“A lot of people look up but they may not know what they’re looking at or what’s out there. By no means do I know what’s all out there, but it’s certainly nice to be with a group of people that are interested in pursuing that.”

Last year had been a successful year for them after they brought in an Astrobiologist from the Canadian Space Agency to speak at the Harbourfront Theatre, said Affleck.

“It’ll be a general display and people that are amateur astronomers, people from your community that are knowledgable about the night sky. So if you have any questions just stop by.”

For those looking to get started, all you need is a pair of binoculars, said Affleck.

“Binoculars for example are probably one of the best ways to view the night sky, and just about everyone has a set of binoculars.”