Greatest show on Earth every Friday

Editor: Members of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Okanagan Centre would like to thank the Kelowna Curling Club for its contributions toward the very well attended public eclipse observing event on Monday.

We hope that the public enjoyed the eclipse glasses we provided, and the telescopic views of the eclipse, as much as our members enjoyed sharing the experience with them.

Further appreciation of the universe and our place in it can be found at the weekly, every Friday night, free public events held at the Okanagan Observatory. The observatory is located just a 30 minute drive east of Kelowna and has been offering free public observing nights every Friday that weather permits for eight years.

The events begin at dusk with a live audio/visual presentation followed by telescope observing at darkness.

Every Friday afternoon starting at 3 p.m. phone messages are posted on the Okanagan Observatory event phone, 250-300-8SKY (8759), notifying if weather conditions will permit the observatory to open, as well as the program starting time.

Tonight is the next scheduled date for our free bus service for those with mobility challenges. The bus service is available for anyone with mobility challenges and has room for four wheelchairs on every trip.

The observatory has a special eyepiece available that makes it possible for people in wheelchairs to have the same direct visual observations of comets, star clusters and galaxies as everyone else.

To reserve a spot on the free monthly bus ride or to learn more about the best kept dark secret of the Okanagan, including a map of the location, visit our website at okanaganobservatory.ca.

It’s the greatest show on Earth and it’s absolutely free.

Guy Mackie, observatory director