Scott Hayes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter | [email protected]
Love space? Of course you do. After all, you live in one of the most star-friendly places in the Milky Way Galaxy: the Jasper Dark Sky Preserve.
For that and for so many other reasons, the Jasper Dark Sky Festival reigns supreme for everyone from scientists to superfans. That includes Niki Wilson, who counts herself at both ends of that spectrum.
鈥淚 had the amazing privilege of growing up in a national park, and that really turned me on to biology and sciences and the wonders of the natural world,鈥� Wilson said.
鈥淚 went on to pursue a couple of degrees in environmental science and biology, but there was always this part of me that really just wanted to share it with other people less into the statistics of science and more into the storytelling of how cool that bug was.鈥�
鈥淚 just so look forward to this every year. I just nerd out,鈥� she added.
Wilson, a journalist and educator, plays host for the eighth time as the festival celebrates its 11 anniversary this year. A powerhouse lineup of presenters and participants are coming to help explain everything under 鈥� and beyond 鈥� the sun for attendees.
A visit to the festival鈥檚 website at jasperdarksky.travel lists off some big names in the world of science and astronomy. Look for Edmonton鈥檚 Telus World of Science CEO Alan Nursall to offer After Dark Trivia Night and local guide Steve Lychak to lead Animals of the Night Hike, a family-friendly night hike up the Pyramid Bench.
You can enjoy a meal like never before with Dining with Aurora and Cocktails and Constellations. The Jasper Skytram can take you all the way up along with astronomy experts from the Jasper Planetarium for a magnificent mountaintop stargazing experience. The planetarium has other telescopic opportunities for those who wish to keep their feet on level ground.
A fireside chat with the Warrior Women and Yoga Under the Stars are other ways of connecting to nature and others during the festival.
Looking for stars whether with a telescope or with the naked eye will reveal enough points of light to spark all of your fantasies of the vastness of creation. There will be many superstars to help fuel those dreams and visions as well.
Dr. Shawna Pandya and Emma Louden are two such superstars who will take turns in the Dark Sky Fest limelight. Pandya is a returning guest speaker who brings with her such diverse talents and experience as physician, martial artist, advanced diver, skydiver, citizen-scientist astronaut candidate and director of the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences鈥� Space Medicine Group.
She has two presentations including the Late Night Talk Show with Jay Ingram on Oct. 21. The next day, she will moderate the Space Exploration Panel featuring Louden and other guests on the topic of Pushing the Boundaries of Space Exploration. Together, they will talk about what it means to be an explorer, what is still out there to discover and how earth and space exploration drive each other forward.
For the former, she鈥檚 excited to share time with CBC鈥檚 鈥淨uirks and Quarks鈥� host Ingram as they talk about what everyone wonders when they stare up into the star-dotted blackness.
鈥淲e're talking about the big questions that keep us up at night. What happens if we encounter extraterrestrial life? How will we react to it? What are our predictions? How does that compare to what we've seen in sci fi?鈥� she said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really exciting because my background is in space medicine and astronautics and human spaceflight. It's a little bit further out than what we typically deal with, but it's really fun and really important to think about. I think the lessons that we think about when we talk about extraterrestrial sociology and what that looks like actually have more in common than we think when it comes to you getting along in everyday society on Earth.鈥�
She was equally excited for the Saturday panel with Louden, because space exploration has been a hot topic over the last several years with the Mars rover, the James Webb telescope, the prospect of a new rocket voyage to the moon, space tourism and even NASA鈥檚 intentional crashing of an unmanned spacecraft to test out how well it could divert an asteroid.
Louden agrees. As an astrophysics Ph.D. student at Yale University, strategist and space entrepreneur, she is excited to be in this new era of space exploration, what she calls 鈥渢he third era鈥� of space exploration, which will form some of the material for her time in front of the Dark Sky Fest audiences.
鈥淚 think that it's different than the previous iterations of space exploration that have focused on geopolitical purposes or on even purely scientific purposes,鈥� she said, remarking on how they reflect on climate change or inequality.
鈥淗ow do we create an era of space exploration that is grounded in empathy and sustainability, and can be based for the service of humanity and for the benefit of humanity? How do we bring the perspective of a generation that is facing climate change and a large number of imminent disasters on our planet, how do we bring that space exploration and use space exploration as a source of practical hope as we confront those issues head on?鈥�
She鈥檒l be giving a presentation called Science for Brunch earlier that day as well.
鈥淭here's always a reason to keep coming back, because it's always incredibly fun coming back,鈥� Pandya said.
鈥淵ou know, for those who haven't come, I don't know what's stopping you, but you should come because it's just, you know, a wonderful period of embracing one of the world's best skies, space activities, fun family activities and night activities.鈥�
Beyond all of that, look for photography events, radio personalities, space history events, talks on how to survive on the moon, renowned authors and scientists alike and even serious talk about the search for extraterrestrial life with Seth Shostak, senior astronomer with the SETI Institute.
There鈥檚 certainly more than enough for Wilson to nerd out about. At the very least, it saves her the trouble of getting tickets for all of the events. She says that being the festival鈥檚 host is wonderful in so many ways.
鈥淭o have all of these people come to town and get their science on and their appreciation of all things nature and astronomical, I guess, is quite well-filling for me. It's a really positive way to interact with people. I'm really grateful for the gig, that's for sure.鈥�
