Saturday, August 11
Experience the Perseid meteor shower!

1:00pm – 4:00pm: Arts and Crafts
7:00pm – 8:00pm: Dark-Sky Storytelling
10:00pm – Midnight: Stargazing
Late night until dawn: Perseid Meteor Shower

 

Elk Island National Park
On the shores of Astotin Lake

The Perseids are perhaps the most popular meteor shower of the year; and this year, they’ll be the best shower of the year. This year, during the peak, people should see about 60-70 meteors per hour. The meteor shower’s peak will be visible both the nights of Aug 11-12 and Aug 12-13.

This year, the peak of the meteor shower will occur near New Moon – the Moon will be a crescent, which means it will set before the Perseid show gets underway after midnight. The Moon is very favorable for the Perseids this year, and that will make the Perseids probably the best shower of 2018 for people who want to go out and view it. The Perseids are rich in fireballs, so the show should be even better.

Perseid meteors tend to strengthen in number as late night deepens into midnight, and typically produce the most meteors in the wee hours before dawn. Skywatchers looking out for the Perseids should also be able to see Mars (visible until about 3 AM) and Saturn (visible until about 2 AM). As evening falls, Venus will be low in the West and Jupiter will be a bit higher in the Southwest – both planets set before the Perseid meteor shower.

For more information, visit https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/elkisland

For more information and tips on watching the meteor shower see the link below.
(Above the map select Edmonton and night of Aug 11-12)

https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/meteor-shower/perseid.html?hc_location=ufi