Grab your binoculars to see something SPECTACULAR
Perseid Meteor Shower & Stargaze offers views from Chesterton
Shooting stars and planets are among the astronomical objects that attendees of a 14th annual event in Chesterton are expected to see.
Perseid Meteor Shower & Stargaze returns to Indiana Dunes State Park on Aug. 15.
“Meteor showers occur when our Earth moves through the dust and debris left behind by a passing comet,” said Marie Laudeman, interpretive naturalist at Indiana Dunes State Park.
“In the case of the Perseids, the comet is called the SwiftTuttle. When the debris strikes our Earth’s upper atmosphere it causes them to heat and burn up, appearing as what we often refer to as shooting stars.
“The Perseid shower is named for the constellation Perseus, which is the point of origin of this particular meteor shower. Therefore, the meteors will appear to be traveling away from the constellation Perseus in the night sky.”
Something that will be different at Perseid Meteor Shower &
Stargaze this time around is people will not be able to use a public telescope for deep sky viewing.
“Due to COVID-19 precautions, we won’t have telescopes out. We don’t want people to share eyepieces,” said Laudeman of Chesterton.
“Jupiter and Saturn will be visible the night of our Perseid Meteor Shower event. Visitors are welcome to bring their own binoculars or telescopes to view the planets but they don’t need those to see the meteor shower.”
Perseid Meteor Shower & Stargaze drew more than 500 people in 2019.
Several precautions are being taken to keep this year’s event safe for attendees.
“This is an event where there’s no touching and no sharing of tools. Everyone can space themselves out on our beach and enjoy looking up at the stars and the Perseids,” Laudeman said.
“Since the event is completely outdoors people need to bring their own masks and wear them if they aren’t able to keep within a 6-foot distance of others outside their family or their party. We have a 3-milelong beach.
The restrooms will be open, but face coverings are required in them.
Attendees are encouraged to bring chairs or towels for seating at Perseid Meteor Shower & Stargaze.
No food will be served but people are allowed to bring their own snacks and nonalcoholic drinks.
“It’s a once-a-year event. It’s a great way to enjoy our beach in the evening and a great way to social distance outdoors and make memories naturally, which is our state park motto,” Laudeman said.
“Since it is an outdoor event the other thing I would want to mention is that mosquitos are pretty common on our beach in the evenings so bringing mosquito spray is also recommended to enjoy the event. I think it is also important to understand that this is a weather-depending event so if it’s raining and thunderstorms we will have to cancel.”
Indiana Dunes State Park offers a good spot for what many people call spectacular views.
“We don’t have a lot of light pollution where we’re located. We’re right in the middle of Gary and Michigan City so we can get some pretty dark skies and still see the skyscrapers of Chicago in the distance,” Laudeman said.
“Last year we had a full moon that was kind of bleaching out the sky so that we couldn’t see as many meteors. This year the full moon was on Aug. 3 so we won’t have to worry about the moon brightening up our sky this year.
“Every half-hour our naturalists will be on the east side of the pavilion pointing out constellations or telling legends and stories related to these constellations. They also might have a meteorite available for people to see and they’ll be able to help answer questions.”
Although facilities such as Indiana Dunes State Park Nature Center closed in March to comply with Gov. Eric Holcomb’s orders to slow the spread of coronavirus, the center reopened with limited occupancy in May as some restrictions were eased as part of the Back on Track Indiana plan.
“The park’s been open this whole time but facilities have been limited,” Laudeman said.
“We are putting safety first so that’s limiting the number of people in the nature center at one time, making sure visitors have face coverings, sanitizing more frequently and encouraging social distance in programs and also limiting gatherings according to the governor’s guidance.”