SUMMARY
Noor Oada earned her degree specializing in astrophysics at Queen’s University, yet she didn’t touch a telescope until after she graduated. The hands-on side came later, at a dark sky preserve near Kingston, from a mentor who took the time to teach her. In this talk, Noor shares her path through astronomy education. It runs from a teacher telling her to reconsider science to becoming an astrophysicist, and it shows how mentorship, representation and simply showing up shaped everything that followed. One drop-in visit to a RASC Kingston meeting led her to coach a student who went on to win a top prize at the Canada-Wide Science Fair.
Drawing on her outreach program, Starlight in Motion, Noor will share how members can be that person for someone else. She’ll offer credible, free resources and local community models to help members bring astronomy to their communities and grow their own outreach. Her message: you don’t have to be the smartest or the top of your class to use a telescope. The sky belongs to everyone.
Noor Oada
Astrophysicist · Educator · Community Connector
Noor Oada is an astrophysicist, astrophotographer and astronomy educator. She holds a Bachelor of Science specializing in Astrophysics from Queen’s University. Her research focused on modelling planetary evolution and using code to turn scientific models into visual simulations, which sparked her interest in using visuals and storytelling to make science more accessible. After graduating, a mentor introduced her to the practical side of astronomy, teaching her to work with telescopes, cameras and deep-sky imaging.
Through her outreach initiative, Starlight in Motion, Noor brings hands-on astronomy to schools, summer camps and community events, for audiences ranging from young children to seniors. She uses accessible tools such as a Seestar so that first-time observers can explore and capture galaxies, nebulae and other celestial objects for themselves. She also volunteers at star parties and was a panellist at Starfest 2026.
Noor is the founder of Cosmic Print Press, where she turns her astrophotography into physical artwork. Across all her work, she hopes to make astronomy feel less distant and more accessible, encouraging people of all ages to look up, ask questions and find their own connection to the night sky.