Here鈥檚 something you might not know about meteor showers: those beams of light that you see dashing across the night sky? They鈥檙e tiny 鈥� no more than specks of dust, really.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e particles about the size of a grain of sand,鈥� says Stephen Payne, senior instructor in the Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science and manager of the at Dalhousie. 鈥淲hen they strike the Earth鈥檚 atmosphere, they heat up and give off light.鈥�
This weekend marks the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, perhaps the most popular stargazing event of the year. At times, there may be as many as 60 meteors visible in the sky per hour, making it one of the most active and visible meteor showers of the year.
And for the third year in a row, Payne and his team are hitting the road to Nova Scotia鈥檚 Eastern Shore to help others learn more about the meteor shower, the night sky and how to become better star watchers.
Sharing science
The Planetarium team,聽including Kaja Rotermund and Tolson Winters alongside Dr. Payne,聽are featured as part of the in Ship Harbour on August 11 and 12.
Organized by the (a not-for-profit cooperative focusing on the environment, youth and community, natural building and the arts),聽the event links together the peak of the Perseid shower with an abundance of bioluminescence in Ship Harbour, making it a great opportunity to experience 鈥� and learn about 鈥斅爏ome of our universe鈥檚 natural wonders.
Each evening, the Planetarium team will lead a short presentation on the night sky and the meteor shower itself, prior to the actual observation (complete with telescopes).
鈥淲e focus on showing them how they can find things on their own, and how to remember how to find them,鈥� says Rotermund. 鈥淚t鈥檚 called 鈥榮tar hopping,鈥� making it easier for them to find the same things the next night or in the future when they鈥檙e doing it on their own.鈥�
Of course, the shower itself is the main attraction: an event caused by the debris of the comet Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the sun every 133 years.
鈥淐omets are basically dirty snowballs,鈥� says Payne, 鈥渁nd their ices partially evaporate near the Sun, leaving solid particles behind. The Earth then passes through that debris field every year in July-August.鈥�
As for why the Perseids seem to capture people鈥檚 imaginations each year,聽 Payne credits the timing. 鈥淚t鈥檚 summertime, people are outside, it鈥檚 warm and there鈥檚 more time to look up,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also a fairly active shower event 鈥� the count rate of meteors can be quite high.鈥�
Connecting with the natural world
With a good weather forecast for the weekend, the team is hoping for a quality viewing experience. (It鈥檚 been somewhat cloudy at the Perseid鈥檚 peak the past two years.)
The team will also do a presentation on bioluminescence, paired with a viewing in the harbour, as well as hands-on astronomy activities before dusk and during the daytime on Sunday, perfect for kids and families.
They鈥檙e also not the only Dal connection to the festival: recent Master鈥檚 of Environmental Studies grad shalan joudry (who also performed as part of the Bicentennial Launch event for Dal 200), is a new addition to the event this year for Sunday鈥檚 activities, presenting on Mi鈥檏maw ecology in the afternoon and sharing a Mi鈥檏maw night story during the evening.
鈥淚 will be talking about my understanding and work as a Mi'kmaw ecologist and what that means to me,鈥� says joudry about her presentation. 鈥淚 will share some of the teachings that the Elders shared with me through my research process and my work life, but then also describe what I find as differences and complementary ways of seeing and learning, through Mi'kmaw and mainstream science.鈥�
For the Dal Physics team, the festival is an opportunity to engage people of all ages in science.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great to see the young people engaged, but it鈥檚 always interesting to see how enamored the parents are as well,鈥� says Rotermund. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e just as excited.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great unifier, too,鈥� adds Winters. 鈥淵ou can do most of the sciences with astronomy. There鈥檚 obviously a lot of physics, a lot of chemistry, biology, geography and the list just keeps going. And it really unifies people because everyone loves space.鈥�
The Sealight Skylight Festival takes place on Saturday, August 11 from 7:30-11 p.m. and on Sunday, August 12 from 2:30-11:30 p.m. in Ship Harbour, Nova Scotia. For full details, . You can also learn more about the Halifax Planetarium at