On May 6, 2019 members of the Saint John Astronomy Club gathered for a sort of mini star party to meet Jenna Hinds of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and author/astronomer John Read of RASC Halifax Centre. It was a beautiful evening by the beach, with the sound of lapping waves. [click any pic to enlarge]
Above~ Chris Curwin’s beautiful 12 inch Dobsonian Scope.
Above~ Chris Curwin of Astronomy by the Bay being interviewed by Jenna Hinds of RASC at Saints Rest Beach in May 2019.
Above and below~nighttime settles in at Saints Rest Beach. Below–a rather strange view of looking at it, where the ocean is the focus.
[photos by Jim Stewart]
Great short video by Jenna Hinds and John Read~
[click to pic to open in YouTube}
About Jenna Hinds~
Jenna Hinds is the Youth Outreach Coordinator for Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. We were pleased to be able to meet her while she was here in the Maritimes as part of her Canada-wide efforts to make astronomy more accessible to youth.
She has a BSc from Mount Allison in Marine Biology and a Masters of Science in Science Communication and Public Engagement from the University of Edinburgh. Prior to the RASC, she was a planetarium host at the Ontario Science Centre, giving live shows on various aspects of astronomy.
About John Read~
John A. Read is the author of some really excellent teaching books and videos about astronomy. A member of RASC Halifax Centre, his videos and books are easy to access though his 50 Things to See with a Small Telescope Facebook Page.
Shortly after receiving his pilot’s license as a Royal Canadian Air Cadet, John dropped out of Aerospace Engineering at Carleton University to pursue a degree (and career) in Corporate Finance. A few years later, his wife bought him a twelve-inch Dobsonian Telescope for Christmas (to be fair, she got leather boots). He joined the Mount Diablo Astronomical Society, volunteering as many as four nights per week under California’s cloudless skies. During his time at MDAS he began writing essays for the club’s magazine, Diablo MoonWatch, and later published his first book, 50 Things to See with a Small Telescope.
In 2016, John left corporate America, and is now in his forth year of the astrophysics program at Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. He works as a telescope operator at the Burke-Gaffney Observatory and hopes to start his masters degree in astrophysics soon.
Besides an active Facebook page, he also has a new website with downloadable lunar sketch forms and star maps at StellarPublishing.space.
[Book links open in Amazon.ca]
Above~excellent Facebook Page. Click the pic above to open in FB.
Photography~
Top~ Paul Owen
2, 3~ Mike Powell
4~ Trudy Almon
5, 6, 7~ Jim Stewart
8, 9, 10, 11~ Trudy Almon
12~ Paul Owen
13, 14~ Jim Stewart