Mégantic reserve marking International Dark Sky Week

From April 19 to the 26, the Mont-mégantic dark-sky preserve is encouraging people across the region to reconnect with the night by looking to the skies and the ASTROLAB Facebook page in celebration of International Dark Sky Week. The week was created in 2003 by the International Dark sky Association (IDA), as a way of promoting the importance of natural night and drawing attention to the issue of light pollution.

The ASTROLAB scientific education team from Mont-mégantic Provincial Park has been sharing their knowledge and wonder live every day since the start of confinement period for the COVID-19 pandemic, but over this coming week, the activities and presentations will highlight the value of the starry night’s sky.

On the agenda are; a live quiz on the night’s sky; A citizen science project that draws on a mobile phone application to evaluate the quality of the darkness of the sky at a person’s own home; a kid-friendly presentation on constellations, a presentation on the Mont-mégantic dark-sky preserve; and a presentation on the ways different telescopes work.

“Right now, a lot of people have time at home so it is a good time to reconnect with the starry sky,” said Sébastien

Giguère, scientific coordinator at the ASTROLAB. “One can watch the real stars, or learn more about them by taking advantage of the many resources and activities online. Astronomy is a source of wonder accessible to all during this difficult period.”

More information on the week’s activities is available at facebook.com/ montmegantic