Night Sky Tours is offering 2 hour solar sessions and best of all, there's no need to come to us. We'll come to you and deliver the complete program to the youth attending your camp.

Here's what the program entails:

Our solar program consists of an educational part and a visual part. The educational part makes use of a plaque (a poster of the Sun).

Educational:

The facts they will learn about the Sun include:

• distance from Earth in terms they can understand
• size in relation to Earth and other planets
• temperature of various layers of the Sun
• what causes aurora
• effects on satellite and communication
• what happens when it runs out of fuel
  (4.5 - 5 billion years from now)
• is it the biggest star in our galaxy
• what's the difference between a flare and a prominence
• what causes sunspots
• will it die and become a black hole
• will it explode into a supernova
• what is a black hole
• what is a supernova

Visual:

• children will take turns at the solar telescope, viewing aspects which "may" be present on the sun
• they may see sunspots
• they may see prominences of gas coming off the Sun
• they may see granulation on the surface of the Sun
• they may see a satellite or aircraft pass in front of the Sun (while observing)

All of this, of course, is delivered in an age appropriate manner, with some concepts being simplified for the younger ones. The minimum age is 5. Solar waivers need to be signed by all parents before the children will be allowed to view. This is a standard condition of our insurance. Waivers can be dropped off, mailed to you, or we can make a waiver page on our web site, available to parents, where they can accept the waiver online. A quick link from your web site will achieve this, or notices can be sent with the parents. The choice is yours.

Night Sessions:

Our night program consists of an introduction to the constellations using a green laser, to point out the stars.
Relations to ancient mythology and how some of the constellations received their long lasting names, is also shared with the group. Following that, our large telescope is employed to provide spectacular views of various objects from planets* in the sky to clusters of stars light years away!

The beam of the laser looks like we're touching the stars as it travels 40km into the atmosphere! Everyone is shown how to locate the north star on a clear night, using just the stars in the Big Dipper. Then it's time to place various objects in the eyepiece of our 10" telescope, and each person takes turns viewing the object, as we explain what they are seeing.

This session typically lasts 1.5 hours and takes place at Nautical Twilight (in the summer months, the start time gradually gets later until the longest day of the year - June 20, then the times gradually get earlier as we progress to autumn and the winter months).

Contact us for specific start times on dates you wish to use us for night-time sessions.

Daytime and night-time sessions bookings are encouraged to be booked on the same day to minimize travel. Overnight accommodations are greatly appreciated (or may be charged) when our night sessions are booked, due to late completion times.

Cost:

The session is a two (2) hour minimum ($99/hr), and up to 50 youths may attend in that 2 hour session. There may be a travel cost if your camp is located more than 40km from L1P 1M5. Our travel rate is $0.37/km (return). For a camp located in Georgetown, for example, the travel cost would be $65. There are no taxes on our tours.

Payment Methods:

We accept direct TD Canada Trust deposit at a branch near you. You will receive a reciept from the teller, and there is no cost to do this. We also accept PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, Amex. Payment MUST be completed before you can book your date in our calendar. Invoices are provided if full contact and mailing address information is supplied to us. Invoices are sent as PDF attachments, via e-mail.

Our NO REFUND Policy:

Due to the fact that these tours are tours of nature, and no guarantees can be made about sky conditions on a specific date, all payments are non-refundable. Instead of a refund, we provide UNLIMITED date selection, until you have had your solar or night session conducted. There are no exceptions to this policy.

CONTACT US to inquire.

To PAY for your camp with a credit card or PayPal, click here please.

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