National Geographic Observetoiles under the stars for a second season

For a second summer National Geographic Observétoiles has brought folks along Glen Sutton's twisting trails, leading to their small outdoor amphitheatre - or more accurately, planetarium, where an augmented reality experience brings folks through the constellations and the solar systems.

Featured within the unique, four-season outdoor centre of Au Diable Vert's lush wilderness experience, with views of Mount Sutton, Jay Peak, and Owl's Head, this outdoor theatre of the stars features experts who guide guests through exploring the heavens with Smartphone technology, nestled in a headset designed with mirrors that allow an immersive experience. We are already 'in space' but this feeling really is like being 'IN space' - as the sun spins towards us, flaming and spurting and roasting away, followed by the planets in order, each with their features, as explained by host astronomy buffs on stage before the crowd.

Tilt your head to the left, and the show changes, the phone switching to a program showing the constellations in their imagery, as imagined by those responsible for the official names. The augmented reality headsets were created by Aryzon, out of the Netherlands, and attendees of the show return the phones held inside the headsets following the presentation, but go home with the headsets themselves, as well as the application

that is downloadable and may be used on their own phones. (Note: A piece of identification is left with the counter upon pick-up of the headsets and returned upon return of the phones inside.)

When using the headsets, participants can even see constellations by looking down or behind themselves, as the sky shifts with the seasons, but the constellations that we don't see in our sky are on the other side of the world, or even just out of view as the summer winds along.

This Sunday featured the last English showing of the season, with a new guide this summer, Montreal resident Trevor Kjorlien, of Plateau Astro. Trevor has been organizing his own astronomy events in the city since 2017.

Mastermind behind National Geographic Observétoiles, Jonathan Marcotte, is a perfectly bilingual host, who shared the discovery of Trevor's talents. 'He organizes moon-rise viewings in Montreal using his telescope, so I attended without telling him who I was.' Trevor's gift with a crowd was evident, and Jonathan approached him about guiding a few English presentations of Observétoiles.

Trevor came on board, leading the English presentations for July and August.

Film-makers speak of the challenges of working with dogs, water and children. Astronomy night-sky presenters are faced with challenges related to the weather. Sunday night's sky was sadly cloudy and uncooperative for the crowd to get a view of the impressive laser indications of constellations, however the early July English presentation had a better backdrop. Trevor's enthusiasm for the sky was undaunted however, leading the crowd through explanations of the naming and positioning of certain constellations, the movement of the heavens and some of the stories behind how the stars were charted in the first place. In spite of the cloudy patches obscuring the stars and the moon (trying hard to glow through them), those in attendance were treated to the lovely, dark-sky setting, the peaceful woodsy night, ambient temperature and not a drop of precipitation.

Au Diable Vert really does feel like it is away from civilization - the ten-or-so minute drive from the heart of Sutton transports folks to the wild that people are so swift to destroy in the name of socalled 'progress' (ie. non-stop construction). If anything is progressive these days, it's an awareness of the future, an embracing of nature itself and appreciating the room to breathe, rather than manicured lawns and townhouses as far as the eye can see. It just feels good to be there, where the tallest things are trees, where we feel surrounded by green.

Jonathan Marcotte explained how there is a large project underway to take this Townships-based development and re-create it elsewhere in the world, with a few spots in the US in the works. There the name will change from Observétoiles to Night Sky Odyssey (or something close to that) - an exciting development that could allow stargazers to travel to witness the 'different skies' of those regions.

There are French-language National Geographic Observétoiles shows remaining for August 13th, 15th, 17th, 20th, 24th, 27th and 31st, with English shows to return next year. This is such an immersive, visual experience however, that attendees may enjoy the show in French as well, even with a minimal grasp of the language.

This Thursday, August 15th will be the next Plateau Astro moon-rise presentation in Montreal.

For more information and booking with National Geographic Observétoiles, please visit www.observetoiles.com. Arrival time is 8:00 p.m., shows begin at 9:00 and end at 10:00 p.m.

For more information on Plateau Astro, visit www.plateauastro.com.