Dining With The Stars

Fall is definitely here now; geese are gathering to head South, the trees are working on their fall splendor, and last Saturday we hosted our last workshop for the season. We had a wonderful group together for this Astronomy workshop, great company to "dine with the stars" with. After our salmon dinner with home-grown organic veggies and potatoes (and decadent dessert, of course) we headed to the Thunder Bay Observatory for a private presentation and some serious star gazing at Canada's largest privately owned observatory. Just before we got there and right on cue, the clouds dissipated to make place for near-perfect viewing conditions.

This astronomical gem was designed and built by Randy McAllister, who did a wonderful job in getting everyone involved with and in awe over the mysteries of the universe. We watched the moon's peaks and valleys (I even took my first moon close-up!), witnessed an eclipse on Jupiter and saw nebulae & galaxies hundreds of light-years away.

 Someone noted that we should be doing this as an Earth Day initiative, as witnessing the cold, inhospitable vastness of space really makes you appreciate the beauty and fragility of this tiny speck we call Earth.
Hmm, maybe not a bad idea...