Weather permitting, on April 8, 2024, Montreal will witness one of the most exciting events on the astronomical calendar—a total solar eclipse!
MonSFFA has invited astronomy enthusiasts David Shuman and Paul Simard to speak on the upcoming eclipse, and of their many adventures chasing shadows. Safety when viewing a solar eclipse will be covered, and David and Paul will screen their 2017 documentary short “Shadowchasers: The Great American Total Solar Eclipse,” which was presented at the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada’s 2019 AGM.
David, a graphic designer by trade, is an avid amateur astronomer and photographer, and has been a long-standing member and board member of the RASC’s Montreal chapter. His fascination with, and extensive knowledge of spaceflight and launch vehicles has seen him travel several times to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to witness the launch of unmanned spacecraft. He has held NASA press credentials and in 1994, photographed the Space Shuttle. In 2001, he visited the Keck, Gemini, and Subaru telescopes in Hawaii.
Paul, who has been passionate about astronomy for some 30 years, has also developed an interest in video-editing over more than a decade. Combining these two specialties, he seeks to educate and help people appreciate the night sky, and universe in which we all live.
David and Paul have teamed up on numerous passion projects, like a 3-D photographic tour of Mars and their “Shadowchasers” film. They have given talks and film presentations at the North East Astronomy Forum (NEAF), Montreal’s own ConCept sci-fi convention, and at MonSFFA.
We are thrilled to have them back on the subject of the April eclipse.
We will also hold MonSFFA’s AGM and Executive-Committee Elections, and continue with our PowerPoint presentation on air shows and aviation museums, aviation often having inspired early SF, making of many sci-fi fans devotees, too, of aviation!
DIRECTIONS TO THE LACHINE LEGION BRANCH
Easily accessible via public transit, the Lachine Legion is located at 3015 Rue Henri-Dunant, between Provost and St-Antoine, just east of 32nd Avenue (see map).
The 191 bus, among others, stops on 32nd Avenue, near the Legion. Those travelling from Montreal, for example, can board the 191 at the Lionel Groulx Metro Station; the ride to 32nd Avenue takes about 35 minutes. From neighbourhoods west of Lachine, the 191, as well as the 195, depart from Terminus Dorval and take roughly 25 minutes to reach 32nd. Consult the STM (www.stm.info/en) for best bus routes.
Those travelling by car may exit from Autoroute 20, whether eastbound or westbound, at 32nd Avenue (Exit 60). Drivers may also access 32nd from Autoroute 13. It’s a short couple blocks drive south on 32nd to the intersection with Provost. Turn east onto Provost, then promptly south onto 31st Avenue, which lets out onto Henri-Dunant. Turn east again and find the Legion Hall about 50 metres from the intersection on the south side of the street.
The Legion maintains a parking lot adjacent the building; there is no charge to park one’s vehicle. Free parking is also available on Henri-Dunant.