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| What is a sidewalk session? Sidewalk Sessions are when a group of people get togather at a fixed location such as a Chapters parking lot (somewhere where there are a lot of people coming and going) and set up their telescopes and allow members of the public to view the moon, planets and anything else that isn't drowned out by the city lights! The purpose of these sessions is to promote astronomy, promote the Thnuder Bay Astronomy Group and basically have a great time! Previous sessions that we have participated in Ottawa have proven to be amazing fun, especially when a lot of people turn out. It is quite a rewarding feeling when someone looks through your scope for the first time and can only say "WOW!" Most people think that to be an astronomer you have to take special courses or have had many years experience. The truth is, we have only been serious astonomers for a short time and only got our first scope in December 2003. This page will ultimately be used to inform everybody of up and coming sessions, their locations, dates and time. We will also be keeping an archive of past sessions including who showed up, what equipment was used, how many members of the public turned out and any other storys or events that may occur! If you have any questions about Sidewalk Sessions or the Thunder Bay Astronomy Group in general, then please visit our yahoo group, sign up to become a member and post your message. (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TBAG/ ) Alternatively you can Email us at : TBAG-owner@yahoogroups.com |
| Upcoming Sessions |
| LOCATION DATE TIME |
| Chapters Last Saturday 9:00pm parking of every month lot unless other wise posted |
| All sidewalk sessions are subject to reasonable weather. For an up to the minute report as to if the session is a go or a no go please visit the message board at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tbag/ |
| June 8th and the Venus transit was one of the best sidewalk sessions we have held so far in Thunder Bay. We arrived at Hillcrest at about 5:00am and set up rather quickly. The fog was so thick that we couldn't even make out the top of the flag pole next to us! Around 5:30m another gentleman showed up with his telescope (a Meade with the exact specs not known at this time). Another 15 minutes later saw the arrival of another fellow with his small Skywatcher on an EQ1 mount. A few other observers showed up including Doug and Doug! Maureen and Marion also came by along with a few more of the RASC members. Around 6:30 or so, Kevin stopped by with his Meade on a ‘go to’ mount. It was really quite the turn out. The sun finally burned off all the fog and graced us with its presence at around 6:00 and what a sight it was. Venus could be made out quite clearly by all, with scopes, binoculars and plain old welders glass held up in front of their eyes! I don't believe that any body left disappointed. I hope to see all these enthusiastic faces in the future. |
| September 3rd Gab-fest and Sidewalk Session was very interesting as per usual! Present were Rob, Leon, Jen, Andrea, Arnold and a potential new member named Tom. With 3 scopes, 3 or 4 pairs of binoculars, 2 laptops, 2 digital cameras and a few other gizmos and gadgets, it turned out to be one of our more flavourable events with lots of pictures resulting! |