The 36th edition of France’s Nuits des Étoiles takes place this weekend, with events planned across the country, followed by the Perseid meteor shower on the night of August 12-13.
The event (which is actually a collection of events over several days) has been organised by the Association française d’astronomie (AFA) since 1991, and will this year take place from August 7 to 9.
Amateur astronomers and scientific experts will help to host more than 500 events over the three days, organised by 350 clubs and associations, which will take place at hundreds of observation sites. The majority of the events are free to attend.
They include lectures; observations of the sun, Milky Way, and the night sky; exhibitions; and workshops on everything from the stars, to planets, and the origins of the Universe.
In the interview, the scientist spoke about the importance of teaching science to the younger generations, as well as his beliefs on climate change.
Nuits des étoiles events are taking place across France (a screenshot of the interactive map)Afastronomie.fr
The full list of events can be seen at the AFA website, with an interactive map on which you can zoom in to check events near you (in the screenshot above).
As you can see, there are events taking place throughout the country, so it is very likely that there is one near you.
The venues marked in black offer stargazing sessions using telescopes provided by Unistellar, a partner of Nuits des Étoiles.
Perseid meteor shower on August 12-13
Stargazers will have another chance to look up on the night of August 12-13, when the annual Perseid meteor shower is set to take place.
This year, the Perseids coincide with a new moon, meaning there will be little to no moonlight to interfere with viewing. The meteor shower is expected to be at its most active between around 4:00 and 6:00 on August 13.
Under a clear, dark sky, observers could see up to around 100 meteors per hour.
For the best chance of seeing the Perseids, head somewhere away from artificial light and find as wide a view of the sky as possible. No special equipment is needed.
