My name is Ryan, and I travel across the province of Ontario, Canada, with two inflatable planetarium domes.
I’ve been doing this through my company, Astronomy in Action, for the past 9 years. I love the ability to travel to new places, meet new people, and share my passion for the wonders of the universe with tens of thousands of people each year.
With this blog, I want to share the adventures, lessons, and experiences I have as I grow my business and connect with more people, in hopes that I improve my writing ability, entertain my readers (you!), and have something fun to look back on a few years down the road.
I have been interested in Astronomy since I saw an eclipse at the age of 8, and although I’ve taken many paths in life, I always come back to my passion for Space. It’s driven my entire career and I enjoy every day of it.
Regarding your aurora post, note that although you’ll see aurorae more frequently as you go closer to the north magnetic pole, you’ll miss the best aurorae, because the more intense they are the farther away from it they come, and they’ll be too far south (more precisely, magnetically south) to be visible.
Though I spent an entire winter on the Arctic ice at a research station, I’ve seen an aurora only once, a particularly intense and beautiful one about 50 years ago, when I was living in upstate NY and happened to look up after coming home from a concert on a clear night. The research station was just too close to the north magnetic pole for any aurorae to be visible (also, frequently cloudy, and fiercely cold when not).
This site has good advice for aurora viewing: http://www.aurora-service.eu/aurora-school/best-place-to-see-the-northern-lights/
Again, congratulations on your speech at Toastmasters April. Your Bio is impressive however, as a vegan, I must ask you: when you say ‘bacon enthusiast’ are you referring to Francis Bacon or the product of those poor tortured animals from factory farms? Just wondering!
diana
Thanks for the kind words Diana. You are welcome to ask me that question as a vegan, or as anything else. I enjoy bacon as in the cured meat of the domestic pig, but am also an enthusiast of Sir Francis Bacon and his work in pioneering the scientific method.
Hello Ryan, I taught someone with your name (although perhaps spelled differently) in grade 9 at Niagara District High School. It was English, and the Ryan I am thinking of – with his group (but he led it) – provided a heart wrenching tableau of the DIary of Anne Frank. I wonder if you are the same person? You look like you might be. If not sorry to bother you but I am glad to see the work you are doing.
Yours,
Ms. Whealy
Thanks for reaching out! I doubt I am that Ryan as I grew up closer to Barrie. Still, I’m sure he would be happy to know his teacher is wishing him well and thinking of him.