The clouds initially seemed to throw a spanner in the works at the annual Perseid festival. But around the moment supreme, the clouds broke open.
“You don’t know what you’re going through,” says astronomer Jeffrey Bout from the city. It is Saturday evening around 10.30 pm when he parks his car in a parking lot on Esumakeech near the village of Eanjum in the municipality of Noardeast-Fryslân. The viewpoint Ezumakeeg Noord is located near the parking lot. There are already ten cars in that parking lot at that time. “Several people were waiting for what was going to happen. Not only star lovers, but also a bird watcher had settled there. He must have also thought how busy it is here, haha.”
“The clouds broke open”
On Saturday afternoon, Bout announced that he would go to the Frisian part of the Lauwersmeer area to watch the annual star shower, the Perseids, together with interested parties. “And then you get out of the car, and you look at the sky, and you see it’s cloudy. Yes, then the disappointment prevails. Other attendees were also like, what now? But slowly holes appeared in the cloud cover, and around midnight the clouds broke open and a beautiful starry sky unfolded,” Bout looks back.
“Planets don’t give off light”
And then there is plenty of gazing at the sky, and Bout tries to name as many things as possible that can be seen. “There you see the saucepan, and there is the Big Dipper.” And questions are asked. “No, planets don’t give off light,” the astronomer explains to someone who has asked a question. “The fact that Jupiter and Saturn can now be seen is because the sun shines on these planets. The sun makes the celestial bodies visible.” Later on, Bout clarifies: “And it is precisely such questions that I find so beautiful. You look at the sky together, and meanwhile you can explain a few things. And what makes this so much fun is that people are really interested. You are dealing with enthusiasts. And whatever question is asked, questions are never stupid.”
“On such an evening you put everything into perspective”
Bout also brought a large stargazer with which the planets Jupiter and Saturn can be seen. “I knew from Saturn that this planet would be visible, about Jupiter I was a little doubtful. But both planets are clearly visible tonight. And it remains impressive. I also received feedback from people who looked through the stargazer, that they saw a planet, as if it were very close.” According to the astronomer, that is perhaps the biggest gain of the evening: “Everything is placed in perspective. Sometimes we are very busy with our lives, we find ourselves very important. But on such a night you realize that you are only a very small part of a very large universe. And I continue to find that fascinating. You start putting everything into perspective, and it also brings peace.”
“There are still opportunities in the coming evenings”
Due to the attention in the media, there was a lot of interest in the Perseids this year. Not only in the Lauwersmeer area, but also in other dark places in Groningen and Friesland, people gazed at the sky. “What I especially like is that there is a mixed group present: from young to old. I gave the children a building plate for a rotating star map. They can get to work on that in the coming days. Because we will have had the peak of the Perseids, but there will still be shooting stars to be seen next night. Conditions also seem favourable. So in the coming evenings there will still be shooting stars.”
“It’s so dark in here”
Bout calls the Lauwersmeer area the ideal place. “It’s a Dark Sky Park. It’s very dark here. Also so dark that the Milky Way is clearly visible. That is also a nice tip for the coming period: the Milky Way will remain clearly visible in the coming weeks. So that is definitely recommended.” In the meantime, cars continue to drive in and out of the parking lot. “Many people from Friesland, from Dokkum, who come to have a look, for example. But I also spoke to someone from Twente who drove here. He works for the observatory Twente, the darkest observatory in the Netherlands. But he reluctantly had to admit that it is even darker here.”
“Too bad the telescope in the area is not open to the public”
And yet, according to the astronomer, there is still more to be gained from the Lauwersmeer area. “You see the interest. The sky, and the events, that fascinate. There is also a telescope here in the area. There is an observatory. It’s just a pity it’s not open to the public. Perhaps you could invest in that. That you also realize something where you can receive visitors, where you can look at the sky through a telescope. I think that could be a very nice addition to this area.”
Meanwhile, one shooting star after another can be seen. “And then the peak has yet to come at 04:00. I will be here for a while yet”, says Bout with a big smile.
Watch a video about the rotating star map here:
2023-08-13 13:13:00
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