Asteroid Day events will take place in the Meteorite Museum / Article / LSM.lv

On Tuesday, June 30, and Saturday, July 4, the Meteorite Museum will host Asteroid Day events for people of all ages and knowledge levels, informed Kārlis Bērziņš, a member of the board of the Latvian Astronomical Society.

In 2020, due to the Covid-19 emergency in many countries, Asteroid Day will be celebrated or organized virtually. Latvia will be one of about 100 active points in the world, where events will be organized in person at the Meteorite Museum in Riga, Nīcgales Street 3a. A year ago, there were more than 2,000 such points, Bērziņš pointed out. However, the Meteorite Museum will also have to follow special epidemiological precautions, disinfect hands, but indoor face bandages are highly recommended.

To participate in the Asteroids Day events on Tuesday, June 30, and Saturday, July 4, from 2:00 PM to 8:00 PM, pre-registration is required for a specific time of arrival. This can be done on the museum’s Internet on the site.

In Riga, “Asteroid Days in Latvia 2020” events, it will be possible to see various unique exhibits that have come to us from the asteroid belt of the solar system, as well as the Moon and Mars. It will be possible to find out what are the main features to distinguish a meteorite from Earth rocks or non-meteorites. Negotiations will take place on the potential threats of asteroids to Earth and civilization, our preparedness to address these threats, and other topics. Visitors will be able to ask and receive answers to their questions about space.

This year, during Asteroids Day, we will pay special attention to Latvian meteorites. There are only four of them – Līksna (1820), Birži (1863), Nereta (1864) and Baldone (1890). The search for the fifth Latvian meteorite is still ongoing, but all previous analyzes of potential meteorites have been negative.

On Sunday, July 12, the Meteorite Museum with the Asteroids Day Sign will host another special event in honor of the first known meteorite that fell in the territory of Latvia – “Līksna Meteorite – 200”. Arrival for this event only with prior electronic reservation.

The asteroid day movement in the world and in Latvia began in 2015, about two years after the fall of the largest meteorite of the century in Chelyabinsk, assessing the damage it caused and forcing us to reassess the risks of the cosmic threat to our civilization. Aware of the global seriousness of the problem, the UN Resolution declared Asteroid Day an annual international event. Its date was chosen to be June 30, the anniversary of the Tunguskas disaster of 1908.

At the end of 2014, the asteroids’ day movement was initiated by astrophysicist and Queen bassist Bryan May, Danica Remy, director of the B612 Foundation, Apollo astronaut Rasty Schweickart, and German film producer Grigory Richter. The movement was quickly joined by scientists, astronauts, engineers, financial and business leaders, artists and many other supporters of the idea. The first Asteroid Day in the world and in Latvia was organized on June 30, 2015. Read more about Asteroid Day in English at asteroidday.org.

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