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NASA Visitor Center takes Astronomy to the Beach for the Perseid Meteor Shower August 13

Milky Way CM
Credits: Clifford Murphy

The NASA Wallops Flight Facility Visitor Center and its partner the Delmarva Space Sciences Foundation continue the Astronomy and Night Sky Summer Series on Assateague Island, Virginia, Thursday, August 13, for observation of the Perseid Meteor Shower.

Kim Check, the Visitor Center manager, said, “Fortunately this year, the slender waning crescent moon rising near dawn will not obtrude on this year’s shower. The Perseid shower often produces 50 to 100 meteors per hour in a dark sky at the peak.  Provided we have clear skies, it should be a good night for stargazing.”

The event will begin with an Astronomy 101 presentation at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge Herbert H. Bateman Education Center Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. & 8:00 p.m. followed by night sky observations through telescopes and binoculars at the north end of the beach parking lot #1 at approximately 8:45 p.m.

An estimated 1,200 people have participated in the two previous astronomy nights this summer.

This series is a collaboration between Assateague Island National Seashore, Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, Delmarva Space Sciences Foundation, and the NASA Wallops Flight Facility Visitor Center.

The event is free and open to the public. The auditorium presentations will occur regardless of weather, however, the telescope viewing is subject to cancellation due to inclement weather. Park entrance fees apply.

The NASA Visitor Center, located on Va. Rt. 175 about six miles from U.S. Route 13 and five miles from Chincoteague, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free.

For more information about the Astronomy and Night Sky Summer Series or the Visitor Center, Call 757-824-1344 or visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/centers/wallops/visitorcenter

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Rebecca Hudson
757-824-1134
rebecca.s.hudson@nasa.gov