Explore the Night Sky this October at the Kawartha Fall Festival

SEPTEMBER 21, 2022 – Come and Explore the Night Sky at Ken Reid Conservation Area with the Peterborough Astronomical Association on Saturday, October 1. From 7:30pm to 10:30pm, visitors can learn from stargazing experts and use telescopes to explore the galaxies while identifying stars, constellations, and other deep space objects for free as part of the Kawartha Fall Festival.

No previous stargazing experience is required to participate, and telescopes will be provided by the Peterborough Astronomical Association. Participants are welcome to bring their own binoculars and tripods, but they are not required to.

“We will look at open clusters and globular clusters, as well as look at some planetary nebulae, and if sky conditions permit, we will go outside of our own galaxy and look at the Andromeda galaxy, which is the nearest, closest, and largest galaxy in our local group,” explained Brett Hardy, Education and Observing Director at the Peterborough Astronomical Association. “Most people have also never seen the moon through a telescope, and during the event they’ll be able to see its craters, which is an amazing thing to see.”

Participants will also have the opportunity to view Saturn, the second largest planet in the solar system, something Hardy notes is an incredibly memorable experience.

"Without a telescope, you might mistake Saturn for a bright star, but with a telescope you’ll be able to see its rings,” said Hardy. “When most people look through a telescope at Saturn for the first time, they’ll say something along the lines of ‘That’s not real,’, but it is and it’s spectacular.”

This event wraps up the first night of the Kawartha Fall Festival, a free, week-long celebration of fall that features family events, guided hikes, wildlife demonstrations and more from Saturday, October 1 to Thanksgiving weekend. There is no cost for any of the events, but visitors are encouraged to drop off donations of non-perishable food items for the Kawartha Lakes Food Source at the main Administrative Building.

For a full list of events for the Kawartha Fall Festival, visit our Festivals page at https://kawarthaconservation.com/festivals. For any questions about the Explore the Night Sky event or the Kawartha Fall Festival, contact Rebecca Pomeroy by email or by phone at 705-328-2271 ext. 120.