MMA Architect Inc. and Windsor Ontario architect, Stuart Miller hopes you enjoy our blog. We take a fresh approach to business blogging, highlighting a variety of topics.
A Stellar Night Under the Stars
Hello, ‘Business Tribe!’
This weekend has been a long weekend in Canada culminating in Family Day, today February 19, 2018. Ontario business owners and their families have been out enjoying spending time together doing a variety of fun activities and so have we.
Space has been on the minds of so many lately due to Elon Musk’s recent rocket launch. Only a couple of weeks ago MMAarch’s blog shared Stuart Miller’s review of Elon Musk’s biography. Therefore, our firm decided to spend Saturday evening, February 17th stargazing at Point Pelee National Park. We attended the Park’s “Dark Sky Night Event” and met up with some members of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada – Windsor to enjoy viewing and discussing the winter sky. We were lucky that the cloud cover cleared and we could see most of the winter sky map. Memorable stars and constellations were, Sirius (the dog star), Orion and Taurus. The sky was illuminated with stars for the better part of an hour.
While at the event dedicated and knowledgeable members of our local Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC), Randy Groundwater and Mahayarrahh-Starr Livingstone, generously assessed our telescope, which appears to need a bit of adjusting. They also shared their extensive knowledge of astronomy and Society President, Michael Mastronardi, even distributed copies of the March/April 2018 edition of Sky News: The Canadian Magazine of Astronomy and Stargazing. Our firm merely provided some hot chocolate and treats to warm us all up.
PhotoCredit: Randy Groundwater
We keenly listened to society members explain their telescopes, some extremely high tech, and they cautiously used green laser pointers to point out stars. The pointers are green because the human eye is most sensitive to colours from the green-yellow spectrum, making them easy to follow in the night sky. We can’t wait to purchase one of these laser pointers to use when stargazing on a regular basis from the shores of Lake Erie. The pointers are a fantastic tool and a must have along with a red LED flashlight to not disrupt your night vision.
Photo Credit: Karen McDade
Stuart Miller has fond memories of visiting the McLaughlin Planetarium in Toronto, Ontario. While Karen Miller, raised in New York, frequented the world-famous Hayden Planetarium, now housing the largest virtual reality simulator in the world, and the Vanderbilt Planetarium in Centerport, New York on Long Island. Planetariums a day-trip-distance from the Windsor-Essex area are the Cranbrook Institute of Science, Bloomfield Hills and the Michigan Science Center, Detroit.
You may want to watch this 52-minute video of Charlie Rose about the Hayden Planetarium/The Rose Center for Earth & Space: https://youtu.be/99RRB42VLuM including an interview with the architect James Polshek. Polshek is the recipient of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) 2018 Gold Medal.
As an architectural firm, we were anxious to research the latest and greatest planetariums and science complexes across the globe. Acclaimed planetariums for their architectural design and scientific merit are included in this Culture Trip article. However, we would add to that list the Shanghai Planetarium and Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, a 38,000 square-meter project in the Lingang District of Shanghai, China set to open in 2020. It is our hope that Canada’s Federal Government assists the City of Toronto, Ontario by designating funds for a full-size public Planetarium in Canada’s international cultural magnet. International and Canadian philanthropists seeking a creative project might also wish to get involved or commision a Planetarium in Toronto. Currently, the University of Toronto houses the Universe a 25 seat star theatre.
A question for Canada and the Province of Ontario is, are we going to preserve or re-envision and renovate the McLaughlin Planetarium in Toronto? To support saving the McLaughlin you may want to sign this petition.
Our ‘Tune-Pick’ for this Canadian celestial experience is a famous Canadian performing a rock classic. Can you guess who it is before you click? https://youtu.be/KaOC9danxNo
MMA Architect Inc. and Windsor Ontario Architect, Stuart Miller, B. Arch., OAA enjoy working with Windsor-Essex, Chatham-Kent and Ontario businesses and homeowners to create efficiencies that promote business growth and improve lifestyles. MMA Architect Inc. looks forward to serving clients with a variety of quality services.
MMA Architect Inc., licensed professional architect, Windsor, Ontario aka @YQGArchitect, MMAarchBlog ~ ©MMA Architect Inc., February 19, 2018, Blog 15