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​​Come and explore the universe and enjoy our renowned northern hospitality!​

Dark Sky Festival

DSF 2026 Keynote Speaker
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Laurie Rousseau-Nepton, PhD. (she/her)

Proudly Innu – Renowned Astronomer !

As an astronomer and a storyteller of the sky, Rousseau-Nepton sees her work as a continuation of a lineage that stretches from her ancestors who watched the stars to the cutting-edge observatories where she deciphers the light of distant galaxies. For her, science and ancestral knowledge are complementary ways of understanding the universe.

She studies the formation of stars – their birth, evolution and legacy – drawing parallels to our ancestors and ourselves. Stars don’t just disappear, she explains. When they reach the end of their life cycle, they enrich the universe by chemically transforming it and creating the heavier elements essential for life. Over billions of years, this cycle has led to the creation of stars like our sun, the planets that orbit them and, ultimately, everything we know.

“We come from the stars and return to them,” says Rousseau-Nepton, reflecting on the Innu belief. Realizing how closely this saying aligns with astrophysics felt like a revelation.
Presentation Host
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Roland Dechense
Roland Dechense is a long-time astronomer and a long-term fellow and contributor to the RASC (Royal Astronomical Society of Canada).
Currently he serves on RASC's Light Pollution Abatement committee. By day, he is an oil and gas geologist in Calgary.

Through his engagement with astronomy, Roland has had a significant positive impact on RASC and his fellow amateur astronomers across Canada. In his leadership role in researching and education of Light Pollution Abatement, he has helped develop responsible lighting policies and in communicating light-pollution issues in many communities and with several local and regional governments.

2026 Ursa Major Sponsors