Mt. Mégantic Astronomy festival to highlight eclipses

To mark a celestial alignment on August 21, the 34th edition of the Mont-mégantic Astronomy Festival will take place under the theme “Eclipses” over two long weekends, July 6-7-8 and July 13-14-15.

On July 6-7-8 and 13-14-15, Mont-mégantic National Park will be in Festival mode with activities, conferences, and summits by bus through the night. Dedicated to the general public, this celebration of astronomy is the only occasion of the year for the public to put their eyes to the large telescope of the Mont-mégantic Observatory (OMM), the most powerful telescope in the east of North America! The eclipse of August 21, 2017 On August 21, millions of people in the United States will gather to witness a rare and spectacular event - a total solar eclipse. With the help of goggles and safety filters, Quebeckers will be able to observe a partial eclipse, and the entire observatory team will be ready to welcome visitors to the ASTROLAB. The ’Eclipses’ show, presented every evening during the Festival, will explore the many facets of the phenomenon that has been fascinating human beings since the dawn of time. Conferences: special guests Among the range of activities, are six major conferences by astrophysicists in the ASTROLAB multimedia room, preceding the Eclipse show and the bus climb to the summit to access the observatories.

July 6th: René Doyon, Université de Montréal, Director of the Mont-mégantic Observatory, and Director of the Institute for Exoplanet Research (irex) July 7: Émilie Parent, Mcgill University, “At the conquest of cosmic lights;”

July 8: Ismael Moumem, Université Laval, “3D spectroscopy of nearby galaxies;”

July 13: Lison Malo, Université de Montréal, “Exoplanets: the Mont-mégantic Observatory searches the sky;”

July 14th: Myriam Latulippe, Université de Montréal; “Discovering gravitational waves;”

July 15: Samuel Trépanier, Mcgill University, “Gamma astronomy: light on a universe of extremes.”

Guest speakers also include Observatory and irex Director, René Doyon, as well as two former ASTROLAB leaders, today astrophysicists: Lison Malo and Samuel Trépanier, who will present their research to the public.

Tickets are free for children 17 and under and conferences are free to ticket holders.. Admission to Festival evening activities: cost $34 per adult, access to the park not included.

For more information consult the Park website at Parcsquebec.com and ASTROLAB.QC or call 1- 800 665-6527, or 819 888-2941