RASC Niagara Centre

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RASC Niagara Centre

The Niagara Centre has been bringing astronomy to the citizens of Niagara since 1958.

08/18/2026

There will be a partial lunar eclipse on August 27. For Niagara, the eclipse begins at 9:23 p.m. Maximum eclipse is at 12:12 a.m. The eclipse ends at 3:01 a.m. Clear skies permitting, we’ll be at the Chippewa Creek Conservation Area in Wellandport with our telescopes to watch this event. Picture of the lunar eclipse of May 15, 2022, by Niagara Centre member Philip Downey.

08/10/2026

The Perseid meteor shower peaks this week. The best nights should be this Tuesday and Wednesday. This year, the Moon shouldn’t interfere at all with viewing. To have your best chance of seeing meteors, get a lounge chair and a warm blanket and look straight up. Traveling to a location with darker skies will help a lot. The meteors will come from the northeast, travel overhead and continue to the southwest. You should see more as the night progresses and Earth turns to face directly into the meteor stream. Picture of two Perseids by Niagara Centre member Philip Downey, taken near Tobermory in 2018.

08/09/2026

Starfest time! Picture of the Milky Way by Niagara Centre member Philip Downey, taken at Starfest 2018.

08/04/2026

There will be a partial solar eclipse on August 12. In Niagara, the eclipse begins at 12:57 p.m. At 1:41 p.m., the time of maximum coverage, the Sun will be 7% covered by the Moon. The eclipse will end at 2:23 p.m. Clear skies permitting, we will be at the Chippewa Creek Conservation Area in Wellandport with our safe solar telescopes, smart telescopes and eclipse glasses to watch the show. This eclipse can only be observed with safe eclipse glasses or properly filtered telescopes. Picture by Niagara Centre member Philip Downey, taken on August 21, 2017, in Nebraska.

07/30/2026

Niagara Centre member Liam Antonsen photographed many colourful nebulae at the head of the constellation Scorpius earlier this month. Orange gas and dust surrounds the bright star Antares. The globular cluster Messier 4 is at right. At left is the cool blue nebula surrounding the triple star Rho Ophuichi. The blackest areas of his picture are of thick clouds of dust in our own Milky Way galaxy.

07/27/2026

Niagara Centre member Philip Downey photographed some of the Summer Milky Way’s greatest nebulae with a Dwarf 3 smart telescope. At bottom right is the gigantic Lagoon Nebula. Above it is the red and blue Trifid Nebula and near it, the small open cluster Messier 21. More faint tendrils of nebulosity appears left of the Lagoon. Through the picture, many, many stars of our Milky Way. The image is a two-panel mosaic.

07/23/2026

Niagara Centre member Liam Antonsen photographed the Cocoon Nebula last week from Rock Point Provincial Park near Dunnville. The Cocoon Nebula is a gigantic cloud of gas and dust in our galaxy which is forming new stars. It can be found with a medium or large telescope in the Cygnus constellation.

07/06/2026

Our next public star nights will be at Rock Point Provincial Park near Dunnville. On the nights of July 17 and 18, we will set up our amazing telescopes to view the Moon, planets and Milky Way. There will be a talk about astronomy at the day use pavilion at 8 p.m. on both nights, followed by observing at 9. On Friday, July 17, Ontario Parks has its annual Healthy Parks, Healthy People day, and there will be free day admission to all Ontario Parks. Park admission fees apply on Saturday. If it’s total clouds or raining, the night time observing will be cancelled. Picture of the Summer Triangle and Milky Way by Niagara Centre member Philip Downey.

06/26/2026

Niagara Centre member Philip Downey photographed the Eagle Nebula (also known as Messier 16), with a Dwarf 3 smart telescope a few nights ago. The nebula is one of the most famous in the night sky. Hubble’s famous Pillars of Creation are at the centre of this cluster of stars, gas and dust. His Dwarf isn’t quite big enough or sensitive enough to match Hubble’s view!

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Niagara Falls, ON

Website

http://astronomyniagara.com/, https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/the-royal-astronomical-society-of-canada-niagara-

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