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Letter: Rotary makes visits to Okanagan Observatory possible

The Rotary Club of Kelowna Morningside is funding the People in Motion bus so anyone with mobility challenges can visit the observatory.

To the editor:

Many thanks to the Rotary Club of Kelowna Morningside for their generous donation to the Okanagan Observatory which is being used to fund the once a month free bus ride to the astronomical observatory for mobility challenged guests.

The bus service is provided by People in Motion and is available to anyone with mobility challenges including room for four wheelchairs on every trip. The observatory has a special eyepiece that makes it possible for persons in wheelchairs to have the same direct visual observations of comets, star clusters and galaxies as everyone else.

The Rotary Club of Kelowna Morningside bus service is the final touch to the access inclusivity that makes the Okanagan Observatory one of the most welcoming observatories in North America.

The observatory is located just a thirty-minute drive east of Kelowna and has been offering free public observing nights every Friday that weather permits for seven years. The events begin at dusk with a live audio/visual presentation followed by telescope observing at darkness. Every Friday afternoon starting at 3 p.m. phone messages are posted on the Okanagan Observatory event phone 250-300-8759 notifying if weather conditions will permit the observatory to be open as well as the program starting time.

To reserve a spot on the free monthly Morniingside Rotary Ride or to learn more about the best kept dark secret of the Okanagan, including a map of the location, visit our website at http://www.okanaganobservatory.ca/.

This Greatest Show on Earth and its absolutely free.

Guy Mackie, Observatory director,

Kelowna