Spent another gorgeous fall day outside Saturday - but not wandering the woods this time. The morning I spent at the farmer's market with all the amazingly delicious looking produce from the local farms. There was also loads of other goodies - cinnamon buns, apple cider, home baked specialty breads, maple syrup, wine vinegars, pyrogy, and too many more to remember.  Hand made crafts of every description were on display - and numerous musicians playing and singing.  Always hard to make decisions - everything looks so good. Only one more street market this year before they close down for winter, and that will be a celebration of the abundance of food we have in this valley, and the abundance of creative talent as well. I think I will make one more trip to take part! Maybe this time I will get pictures!!

Then, in the afternoon I went to the White Lake Observatory to an open house. In all the years it has existed there, I have never once been inside the gates. I decided that this should be the year. It's a good year to choose, as it's the 400th Anniversary of Galileo turning his telescope to the sky and beginning the search of the universe that continues with ever increasing technicality.

The Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory at White Lake is involved in several projects, some of which are international in scope through partnerships with other countries. One project of major importance is the 'Solar Flux Monitoring Programme' which constantly monitors the Sun. Information gathered is used by scientists and engineers world wide and related to climate change and solar flares that interfere with communications on Earth.

The day wasn't all full of dull scientific information by any means! They had a couple of scientists dressed up as Galileo and one of his contemporaries, offering telescopes similar to the original for us to peer through so we could grasp the concept of how difficult it must have been to gather information on the movements of the planets. There were small telescopes for visitors to gaze through at the sun and distant mountains so we could understand the  differences in magnification; several tents for kids to explore the visible universe through things like star maps and learning about moon phases; and discussions and explanations about the various projects the Observatory is involved with.

It was all presented with easy to understand explanations, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm really glad I went, and wouldn't mind going back again to see the few things I missed. It was a clear day and the sun was beating down on us as we wandered from building to building - after being in the sun all morning at the market and two more hours at the Observatory, I was ready for a gallon of water and some shade!

"Galileo" in a costume he described as 'recycled chesterfield'  (ha ha) - mostly for the kids, and just a little bit of fun to remind us how differently they dressed back then. The observation point at the end of this telescope was just a small point. Amazing how Galileo observed what he did, and came to his conclusions using this invention!

Throughout the site were small signs like this with a line to follow from one to the next, to give us a visual time line from the 'big bang' to the present day. Each was marked with a particular occurrence, such as the beginning of life on the planet, and the first plants and humans.

Here are four, of a series of seven, telescopes that move along rails. Each telescope is 9 meters in diameter, set in a 600 metre long configuration. Using sophisticated electronics, they can combine the readings to create a detailed picture of  objects in the sky that they want to study.

This is the big guy  (26 metres)  that is used to study distribution of gas in the Milky Way. Radio waves can pass through the dust of the Milky Way and allow astronomers unobstructed view of objects within the Galaxy.

And this is the little one - the one that studies the sun and gives the world information on solar activity that may affect the communications and power systems on the planet.

Written on the sign is as follows;
"The Solar Flux Monitor Program measures the strength of the radio waves produced by the Sun. It is the most accurate and longest running measure of the Sun's activity in existence. Astronomers worldwide use the results in their research. The data is of special interest to industries that are affected by the Sun - power and radio communications companies, and satellite operators.....(it) is a fully automated system that has tracked the sun for over 50 years."

All in all it was an awesome September day!!


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