Oh Ookpik, now I feel like a true Canadian!

Yesterday seeing off relatives at the airport I spied this little fellow who had been most elusive since my arrival in Canada last August.

I first laid eyes upon the Ookpik at Douglas Copeland's 'Canada House' exhibition at the Canadian High Commission in London back in 2005 and instantly fell in love.

The Ookpik (sometimes spelled Ukpik), is the inuktituk word for the Snowy Owl and was created in the early 60's as a small souvenir owl by the Ft Chimo Eskimo Co-operative in 1963. The Ookpik remained a popular symbol of Canada for many years until disappearing in the late 70's.

As a new immigrant I am proud to be living with an Ookpik and I suggest you all search for one soon.

Sucking in stars

I have just returned from a few days break in Tofino, a small town on the west coast of Vancouver island. The clouds parted on Saturday evening, giving me the opportunity to observe for the first time under truly dark skies.

First light was staggering, the familiar light polluted skies that I have grown accustomed cannot compare to the thousands of stars visible through the low powered eyepiece I was using. My eyes were literally sucking in stars. The familiar patterns I know so well were lost in new forms and spectacular nebulosity.

The utter majesty of viewing has so effected me that my belief in a Creator has been confirmed. That this beautiful sight is lost to most through unnecessary light pollution dismays.

The group below are doing a fine job and I urge all to support them.

http://www.darksky.org/mc/page.do?sitePageId=56411&orgId=idsa

First image of the moon

This is my first attempt at astrophotography with a canon 40D taken at prime focus through a Takahashi TSA-102 telescope. After living in London for over 15 years, I realized that I had completely lost touch with the night sky and even more disturbingly the changing of the seasons. Living in a sprawling metropolis for so long I lost something so fundamentally basic as seeing a dark night sky.

I moved to Vancouver, Canada last August and have regained a passion for the sky.