OTTAWA -- Saturday is International Astronomy Day.

It’s a chance to take a break during the COVID-19 pandemic and look up at the sky. It’s also something you can do safely from your backyard, balcony, or even online.

Jesse Rogerson of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum says “there are ways to get out of your house without leaving your house.”

The day is about connecting with the stars.

“It’s a time when everyone can get together either digitally or in person - in past international astronomy days, to look through telescopes, to chat about what’s up there, to learn about ourselves, and to learn about the night sky.”

And it’s something you can do from home.

“Public health is still recommending that everyone limit their non-essential travel… so if you wanted to participate in international astronomy day, the best way is if you have a balcony - you can go out on your balcony. Or if you have a backyard you can go out into your backyard and look up. If those aren’t options, there are so many great digital options for you to get involved in.”

And Rogerson says you can connect through the programming that the museum is offering online.

“The professional astronomers are going to get involved and they’re going to post pictures from their telescopes from various places around the world, or the things that they research. You can get on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and follow along with astronomy across Canada and see what everybody does.”

Rogerson says if you want to look at the sky from home, you don’t need to spend any money on telescopes,

“The best way to get involved with the night sky, or to start learning about the night sky, is just with your eyes.”

What can you see with the naked eye from within the city?

“Venus is like super-super bright, right in the evening sky just after sunset - maybe an hour after sunset you’ll have a nice blazing bright in the west,” explains Rogerson.

Jim Thompson is co-ordinating events for International Astronomy Day with two Ottawa-area astronomy organizations – the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and Ottawa Valley Astronomy and Observers Group.

Thompson says they will be hosting “an all-day online star party” online from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

“A list of panelists throughout the day will switch back and forth, sharing either a live view from their backyard telescope, or some presentation that’s astronomy related.  The audience can watch and ask questions as we go through the day.”

You can pre-register on their website or watch a live stream on YouTube.

You can share your images using the hashtags #AstronomyDay and #AstonomyAcrossCanada