Stargate, Night of the Shooting Stars. The Perseids Are Coming II – August 14
The most beautiful summer meteor shower, the Perseids, is coming in August! On a summer evening sparkling with starlight, we’ll set out to track the meteor shower after it has peaked. We can deepen our knowledge of the Perseid meteor shower’s origins, and during our meteorite examination, we’ll even get to hold freshly fallen “shooting stars” in our hands!
Schedule
In the twilight sky, we’ll admire the slender, two-day-old crescent moon and the planet Venus, currently in its half-phase. As darkness falls, we’ll observe the mysterious star clusters and nebulae of the summer sky through our telescopes. On our observation field, we’ll use a laser pointer to trace the most beautiful summer constellations. Meanwhile, those with a keen eye can lie down on blankets on the grass to catch a glimpse of a few beautiful shooting stars.
Stargate: Amid the excitement of our major astronomy event, visitors are free to explore the various venues at the Svábhegy Observatory at their own pace. We recommend purchasing tickets online in advance, but tickets are always available for purchase on-site as well.
Programs
Daytime and twilight astronomy:
Solar observation: Using our solar telescopes, we will examine groups of dark sunspots, fountain-like solar flares, and bright, lace-like solar prominences in different colors.
Crescent Moon: The thin, crater-laced arc of the two-day-old crescent moon following the solar eclipse can already be observed in the daytime sky.
Half-Venus: Venus reached the exact half-phase two days ago and has already begun to wane. On the planet, we can see not only the phase but also the bright outer rim, the dark light-shadow boundary, and delicate cloud patterns.
Interactive Astronomy Programs
Perseid Meteor Shower – Where does the most beautiful shower of shooting stars in the summer sky come from?
Meteorite Examination – Hold rocks from space in your hands!
Spectrum Zone – Light experiments in every color of the rainbow
Planet Sniffer Lab – Get ready for some deep breaths!
Comet Cooking – We’ll cook up a smoking comet nucleus
Bubble Universe – Giant colorful bubbles and their astronomical connections
Space-Time Trampoline – Put the planets into orbit around the Sun!
Telescope Tricks – we take it apart, cut it in half, look inside, and focus it.
Nighttime Telescope Observation
The most beautiful double stars in the summer sky as darkness falls: Albireo, the Double Double, Izar, Ras Algethi, and Delta Cephei.
Open clusters and globular clusters sparkling with stars: Captain Hook’s Cluster, the Wild Duck Cluster, the Shoulder Cluster, and the M13 globular cluster.
The most exciting gas clouds of the Summer Milky Way: the Swan Nebula and the Eagle Nebula.
A magnificent planetary nebula, a cosmic gas bubble: the Dumbbell Nebula.
On the rooftop terrace, we’ll also marvel at the thin ring of Saturn rising late in the evening!
A laser constellation tour through the constellations of the summer sky!
In case of cloudy weather
Our Stargate event will take place regardless of the weather, and our interactive activity areas will remain open throughout. In case of cloudy weather, instead of observing celestial bodies through telescopes, we will offer a tour of the observatory dome, video observations through telescopes, spectroscopic observations of light sources through telescopes, and a themed lecture!
Svábhegyi Observatory of Budapest
"The Svábhegyi Observatory is the largest demonstrational observatory in Budapest also an interactive astronomy experience centre. Our main goal is to bring the beauty of the Universe closer to everyone."
