SUMMER STAR PARTY PROGRAM

This page describes the site and directions for events during our Saturday Night Star Parties held from April to September

Programme Schedule

Numbers in parenthesis correspond to location on map.

event start times

  • 7:30pm Dome Tour (2)
  • 7:30pm Children's Program (1)
  • 8:00pm Children's Dome Tour (2)
  • 8:00pm Presentation (1)
  • 9:00pm Presentation repeated (1)
  • 9:00pm Dome Tour (2)
  • 10:00pm Dome Tour and Live Observing with the Plaskett Telescope (weather permitting) (2)

All evening

  • Exhibits (7)
  • Sidewalk Astronomers (5)
  • Children’s crafts (until 9:30) (6)
  • Ask an Astronomer (6)
  • Unhosted Planetarium shows (limited capacity) (3)
  • RASC Welcome Table (6)
  • Gift Shop (6)

  1. Lecture Hall – We try to provide a set of presentations from the astronomy community which includes researchers, authors and passionate amateurs. There are always possibilities of surprise guest speakers!

    The same presentation usually runs twice in a night, around 8pm and again at 9pm (7pm and 8pm in the winter months).

  2. Children's Tour A special kids’ tour lasting 30 mins takes place starting about 7:30pm (6:30pm in the winter months) and includes a presentation in the auditorium, a planetarium show, and a short tour of the Plaskett telescope.

  3. Plaskett Dome – The dome is a heritage site, and not to be missed. Tours are approximately 30-45 minutes long and run a few times in a night. If the weather permits - its not overcast, raining, or too windy - we open the shutter after dark and image deep sky objects. We can capture distant galaxies fairly quickly with a telescope of this size!

  4. Planetarium – Come inside and learn about the constellations, and even a little sky lore! The new state of the art planetarium features full dome movies and simulated flights through the solar system.

  5. 16” Telescope – This research-grade telescope was originally located on Mt Kobau near Osoyoos for site testing towards potentially building an observatory there. It was then moved here to the DAO, and then from another area on the DAO property to this site when the Centre of the Universe building was constructed in the late 1990s. It is now available for viewing “live” through an eyepiece. The telescope is open subject to weather conditions on many of the Saturday nights.

  6. RASC Member Telescopes – Royal Astronomical Society of Canada members have been long standing participants at Saturdays nights at the DAO for nearly 100 years. Weather permitting, members will take you on a telescopic tour of the evening sky.

  7. Information Area – There are volunteers available to help you with your evening visit and if you’re interested they can let you know how you can get involved in astronomy activities in Victoria. Kid friendly programming is available in this same area.

  8. Interpretive Centre Displays – The displays from the former interpretive centre show Canada’s role in astronomy and contain a number of historical artifacts of interest. We have kiosks that feature Knowledge Network’s Space Suite series and other programming. Stay tuned for their debut.