Explore Alliance, RASC Montreal Centre Team Up for Global Star Party Celebrating International Astronomy Day on May 15th

SPRINGDALE, Ark., May 13, 2021 (Newswire.com) - This Saturday — May 15th — is International Astronomy Day — an astronomy outreach event with roots that go back to 1973. To celebrate, Explore Scientific's Explore Alliance is teaming up with the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada's Montreal Centre to host a special Global Star Party livestream event starting at 6 p.m. CDT Saturday.

This interactive livestream event, which will be simulcast free on Explore Scientific's social media channels (connect at explorescientific.com/live), will be the 45th Global Star Party hosted by the Explore Alliance — the formal educational outreach organization supported by Explore Scientific — since the pandemic brought most in-person star party events to a halt.

"It is our special honor to celebrate International Astronomy Day on May 15th by co-hosting Global Star Party XLV, which will be simulcast on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Twitch," said Scott Roberts, founder of Explore Scientific and the Explore Alliance. "With these virtual events, presenters, hosts and viewers are not confined to a single latitude, longitude or hemisphere. That makes the Global Star Party the perfect way to mark this worldwide movement that was started in 1973 by Doug Berger, who himself was inspired by astronomy outreach legend John Dobson."

The event will bring together RASC Montreal Centre members and Explore Alliance outreach ambassadors to talk astronomy and tell their night sky stories. The program will be divided into three parts: Observing Stories, Outreach Stories and Imaging Stories. The evening will end with an after-party during which the audience can share their own astronomy experiences.

"The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada's Montreal Centre is excited to showcase our members' and friends' astronomy stories during Global Star Party XLV for International Astronomy Day 2021, with the Explore Alliance," said Karim Jaffer, public events coordinator for RASC Montreal Centre. "The RASC Montreal Centre has a 100+ year history of supporting amateur astronomy and outreach to the general public. We host public events monthly, along with two members' events per week - all delivered virtually during the pandemic."

Renowned comet hunter David Levy will kick off a stream of presenters that include astronomers from Canada, Buenos Aires, the United Kingdom and the U.S. Scheduled topics include urban astronomy, building optical devices, ancient astronomical instruments, shuttles and rockets, the Appalachian Starsong Project, remote telescopes, deep sky imaging and more. The event will also include live viewing and door prizes.

For more information on the RASC Montreal Centre, visit rascmontreal.org/moon. To learn more about the Explore Alliance, visit explorescientific.com/live.

Press Contact: Scott Roberts +1 (949) 637-9075

Source: Explore Scientific