Thu, Apr 5 2007 - Tour the U of T Astronomy Observatory (View Original Event Details)
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It was a dark and stormy night … okay, not really stormy, but quite windy, really cold, and disappointingly overcast. The unwelcome presence of clouds suggested that we would not be able to see any stars or planets through the U of T astronomy telescope. And yet we still had an awesome turnout for this event! Was it the natural hardiness of the typical TOC member? Was it the allure of learning about possible life on other planets? Or was it the goofy charm of the event coordinator, evident in not one, not two, but THREE e-mails sent out to the group the night before? I’ll let you decide … ;->
(Whatever the reason, there were so many great TOC people there that night that I don’t want to mention anyone by name, because I’ll have to miss someone.)
The grad students of the Dept. of Astronomy & Astrophysics were bowled over, thrilled, and ecstatic with the number of people who showed up for this tour. Their previous tours have not been very well attended, but this time word had gotten out about this incredible opportunity within our very own city.
First, the lecture on life on other planets. Hilding Neilson spoke to us about "Life in galaxy? Are We Alone or Just Haven't Found It Yet?". His lecture included an overview on what conditions are really required for life. This section included a review of (mostly microbial) life forms that are found on earth in conditions we would consider extremely uninhabitable. Hilding also shared with us some of the incredible circumstances that allow us to live on earth, including the perfect distance from our sun, an atmosphere to protect us from solar storms, water, and the planet Saturn, whose gravitational force protects us from many asteroids. He also mentioned that the funding for projects to look deeper into space for extraterrestrial life and other “habitable zones” has been diverted instead to the race to get a manned mission to Mars. Interesting!
There were donuts (doughnuts?) and muffins and the promise of hot chocolate and Timbits as telescope operator and PhD student Bryce attempted to lure us to the observatory. For most of us, this was not a hard sell, despite the cloudy weather. Looking at the telescope was pretty interesting, but even more so were Bryce’s accounts of how the previous month, tour participants had been able to see Saturn and its rings through it! (Note to self: this free public tour is offered the first Thursday of every month!)
We then got a demo of a couple of different astronomy software suites (Star Strider is the only name that I remember, sorry), which had a number of fascinating functions. One allowed you to locate in the sky any known planet or star for any given date and time. We had some questions about astronomy and the experiences of a PhD student in this field, so we peppered Bryce with questions. In return, he shamelessly and repeatedly mentioned that refreshments and treats would also be available during future tours – he wanted to see more people next time!
After the tour was over, some people went directly home, while a group of TOC members went to a local pub for a cold drink and some warm food and conversation.
Have some photos from this event that you'd like to share in our photo album? Please forward them to Erik Sonstenes at photos@torontooutdoorclub.com. Please note that we prefer to receive the photos in approximately 640x480 or 750x500 pixels - do NOT send original high-res photos. If you have a LOT of photos, please submit up to twenty of your favorites (only) for a day event, or up to forty of your favourites for a multi-day event. Thank you.