Since 2019, I’ve been offering live telescope sky-watching evenings for adults and children at La Pommerie. Live” refers to the fact that there is no electronic image processing (pixel, Photoshop) or screens separating us from celestial objects. The experience is totally different from looking at a photo or a screen. The astronomical dimensions of the cosmos are felt more clearly. The notion of astronomical time becomes perceptible.

These telescopes use mirrors, lenses and filters to magnify, brighten and (occasionally) filter celestial objects. The best-known celestial objects are planets, nebulae, star clusters and galaxies.

Towards the end of the season, the Andromeda galaxy, the Orion nebula and the Pleiades appear on the horizon at La Pommerie. By day, I propose to observe our star, the Sun. I use a dedicated telescope with an H-Apha filter. This filter makes it possible to see flares, sunspots, coronal holes and the texture of the Sun’s surface.

If the skies are clear, meetings are usually from 14:00 to 16:00 for sun observation and from 21:30 to 23:30 for night observations. Sometimes, at the end of the evening (23:30), we say to ourselves “the evening is still young”. These sessions are designed to be very friendly, and are punctuated by astronomy information capsules, exchanges of astronomy knowledge and real-life experiences.

My suggestions for meetings at La Pommerie are influenced by certain criteria.

• The state of light pollution, sky transparency, humidity levels
• Celestial objects in the sky over La Pommerie: planets, the presence of the Moon (which influences the quality of darkness) and deep-sky objects with high luminosity.
• My astronomical appointments are planned in relation to the calendar of other activities at La Pommerie. For the summer of 2025, I’ll be there (conditions permitting) on July 3 and 11, and August 9, 16 and 29, for short stays.

The equipment used in 2025 for those interested in instruments: a Lunt 60 mm H-Alpha telescope for sun observation, a Skywatcher Esprit 120 mm APO telescope and a Celestron Edge 203.2 mm telescope for nights. I use a Skywatcher Wave 150i mount and a column-type tripod. I now have the Astro-Mobile 1 to move them from one observing site to another, which serves as my camping van (2012 Ford Transit Connect).

My experiences:

Amateur astronomer since my childhood. 60 years ago, I saw Saturn and its rings live. I was hooked, as the saying goes. In the ’80s, I spent 2 years leading observing weekends and evenings at an outdoor base (La Cabouse) in St-Donat. For the past 7 years, I’ve been taking my telescopes to friends’ homes, campsites and public places like libraries and parks.

I’m a member of the Fédération des astronomes amateurs du Québec (FAAQ) and the Club d’astronomie Maskoutain (CAM).

Keep an eye on our calendar to find out when our next experience will be.

Welcome to all,

 

Ghislain Lemonde