On a warm evening in Emerado Park, Kenton Dyck can be found set up for a viewing of the night sky as a part of Astro Club, a club he founded in the summer of 2023. This past Monday, we went to visit Kenton and some of the Astro Club regulars to get a look not only into the club, but at the sky above us.
New telescope tech
Astro Club currently has three telescopes—two are the more traditional, Dobsonian kind, and one Dwarf 3 smart telescope, which Kenton uses as an educational and photography tool.
“...instead of having an eyepiece, (the Dwarf 3) uses a camera sensor so it projects the image it sees to any device nearby, allowing us to teach not only optically, but digitally as well.”
Learning as a family
With attendance at these viewings on any given night varying from 40-50, Kenton’s passion for astronomy is reflected in the community, with people of all ages.
Iurii has been bringing his family to Astro Club for over a year. He has seen the benefit of a community club like this one, not only for children but for adults, too. “I like not just that they can see the sky and the planets, but they can hear a lecture. So actually Kenton, he is teaching them all about the galaxies and about the universe... it’s super fantastic.”
Taking it on the road
It’s not just in Emerado park where the Astro Club meets. They host dark site nights at Dead Horse Cider, and Kenton has taken his telescopes to local businesses- an opportunity for “sidewalk astronomy”.
In the future, Astro Club is looking to host viewings in Morden, including the community in their regularly scheduled events. The next Astro Club event is a dark site viewing at Dead Horse Cider on May 25th from 9-11 pm. To stay in the loop about future Astro Club events, follow their social media here.
