Meteor Shower Viewing

Text Stewart Johnson
Photo Michał Mancewicz / Unsplash

On 19 August, Pärnu’s Pernova Nature House is hosting a unique event to celebrate the Perseid meteor shower. The evening will include music specially composed for the event, lectures and talks on astronomy, and actually viewing the meteor shower. All of this in a fascinating environment dedicated to science and nature.

Three concerts of music composed by electronic music artist Lauri Lest will take place in the planetarium. Entering and exiting the planetarium during the performances is not allowed, and seating is limited, so get your tickets today and plan accordingly. The music will be accompanied by microscopic visuals by Inessa Saaritsa.

Following these concerts, there will be a talk by Kristjan Madalvee about nighttime photography, a documentary in English titled “The Dark Side of Light” in the planetarium, and a seminar about space objects that could pose a threat to Earth, by Mario Mars. Beginning at 23:30, Aarne Paul will host the stargazing session. The café will remain open the entire time.

The Perseids are fragments from the comet Swift–Tuttle, which makes a relatively close approach to Earth roughly every 130 years. Its next visible approach will be in the year 2126, when it will be visible to the naked eye. The Perseids are famous because they are the most reliable meteor shower, appearing in mid-August every year. The name stems from the constellation Perseus, in the eastern sky, where they seem to originate. At its peak, the meteor shower has one shooting star approximately every minute. This is a great event for long-exposure photography enthusiasts.

Tickets and more information—in Estonian—are available here.

To learn more about this and similar topics
astronomy Events in Pärnu meteor shower Nature Pernova Nature House Perseids Science