ASTRONOMER IN RESIDENCE
Raj Seehra
September 5 - September 11, 2022
Raj is a fourth year undergraduate student pursuing a degree in Astrophysics at the University of Manitoba. He received his first telescope as a birthday gift in 2016 and has used it routinely since. He goes out often to image as an avid amateur astrophotographer and enjoys all things space (and physics!). In free time, Raj loves to spend time cooking, playing sports, writing, and being outdoors.
Read Raj's blog posts as an Astronomer in Residence:
Finished the 20 - hour drive from Winnipeg to Killarney earlier today. Taking Highway 17 around Lake Superior was a definite highlight - some of the best scenic driving I’ve ever done. I really loved the numerous “Don’t feed the bears” signs. Got to the park around noon and met up with Kathleen to get settled in and shown around. Took it easy for most of the early afternoon and was then on my way into town for some sightseeing. It’s quite the lovely place - tons of boats (and airplanes) on the water made for some great pictures. Headed back to the park to do a little monitoring of the telescopes as well as some of my own gear. Took a short stroll down to the beachfront and swiftly decided to spend some time in the water tomorrow. I think the plan for the rest of tonight is to get my gear set for some long exposure wide-field photography.
Took some great photos last night! Started with some lunar photography as the Moon was in Waxing Gibbous at a peak altitude around 10pm. Took a nap while I waited for it to set at around 2:30 am, and brought my gear back out to take some wide-field shots of the Milky Way. Also got the chance to take some shots with my new phone. They came out much better than I was expecting. Capped off a great imaging night by accidentally locking myself out of my room (to which I owe a big thanks to Kate for finding me a spare key).
Spent most of the morning outdoors - started off with a quick drive to Killarney Outfitters to get my hands on a kayak, and then stopped in town for a quick breakfast and some small groceries. Went on a small adventure walking throughout the town streets and found myself saying hi to most people in passing. I’m really enjoying the community here - everyone seems to know everyone and it brings a sense of familiarity.
Late afternoon, I kayaked until I couldn’t. The water was a lovely temperature and the views of the rocky terrain surrounding the entirety of George Lake kept me distracted from my fatigue for most of the excursion. There was a very “natural” silence overtop the water; one that I find difficult to describe, but one that was incredibly therapeutic.
Gave my first presentation (Talking Telescopes) at around 8 pm! As the presentation went on, it felt as if it had become a conversation with the audience. It was lovely meeting the attendees and I really enjoyed the commentary I received. Having been involved with the astrophysics community for so long, I find it’s easy to become desensitized to “fun-facts” that exist throughout the field. Presenting and having a space that encourages others to ask questions and learn about the field provides the opportunity to go over these fun-facts and register how cool they are all over again.
Spent the morning doing some yoga in my room and made myself some breakfast - today, it was Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I had most of the day to kill before I had my second presentation at 8pm. I took my book and journal and headed into town with the intention of taking it easy until the afternoon.
The restaurant by the docks in Killarney is such a lovely place. The food, specifically the veggies and fruits they use, taste incredibly fresh. I’ve gone about three out of the four days I’ve been here, and each time I try something new. The tossed salad, the butternut squash ravioli, and their caesar salad are all phenomenal.
I spent most of the morning lounging on the patio, taking in the sounds of the waves and watching planes come and go from the surface of the water. I was told there was a wedding in town, and that was the reason for the increased frequency of people coming by plane. Sometimes, Killarney feels like a place out of a movie scene: people coming and going by plane has to be the coolest and most niche thing in the middle of Ontario.
I saw a very adorable black bear (his name is Boris!) wandering on site as I got back from town. I let the staff know and came with them to scare him off. I can understand now why there are so many “Don’t feed the bears” signs. They’re just so cute.
I had more of a show for this presentation than yesterday. It worked out well, because I was looking forward to this talk (All Things Lunar!) in particular. Many of us were distracted by flying squirrels - though it was a pleasant distraction.
I spent most of today outside, again! I took the kayak back around George Lake a second time for some early morning exercise and peaceful morning waves. I made it back around lunch time and took a short trip into town to my favourite restaurant with the binder. The binder is a somewhat thick encyclopedia - esque source of information pertaining to the observatory’s two telescopes. It has loads of information on set up, usage, maintenance, as well as closing down. This info will come in handy for our Tour of the Night Sky going down tonight!
After getting back to our site, I set up both telescopes to ensure they were running correctly. Since the 16 - inch has a CCD and Canon attached, I closed it back down and decided to run the tour with just the 10 - inch. The eyepiece provides a more immersive experience and will likely be more fun for our observers!
The tour went wonderfully. Since it was a full moon, it was difficult to look at constellations / other specific stars, so we stuck with some planet hopping! We began with Saturn and spent some time with everyone looking at its rings. Next was Jupiter (and the Galilean Satellites!) and then the Moon. It was quite the turn out so we ran out of time after the Moon for anything significant, though I enjoyed spending some time looking for Neptune after most people had left.
Today is my last (full) day here since I’ll be leaving early tomorrow morning. I spent it doing the things I loved the most. I kayaked early and came back for a small hike through the Chikinishang trail here at Killarney. Spent some time cleaning up before I headed into town for lunch - I ordered the tossed salad with chicken (which has so far been my favourite meal). The wedding celebrations were still going on, so there were lots of planes and people going by to watch.
I had to prepare for my drive tomorrow, so I headed into Sudbury for some groceries and general maintenance. Coming from Winnipeg (or really, the plains), it will be hard to forget the rocky terrain that encompasses all of Ontario. Each drive brings me such delight in seeing where the forests end and water begins. Even spending the hour driving into Sudbury from Killarney is enough to keep me content for the rest of the day.
I was back on site around 6 pm, and spent most of the evening chatting with Parks’ staff. It was a lovely way to decompress and tie up at the end of the week. Since it is the end of Summer, many of them are onto new things for the new year. It is exciting to hear about where each one of them will adventure next.
Here’s to each one of our next adventures!
Raj's photos as an Astronomer in Residence:
Week 2, September 2022:
