Joanne McQuarrie, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter | [email protected]
The Jasper Planetarium, established in 2015, is the evolution of many ideas, conversations and capitalizing on Jasper National Park's designation in 2011 as one of the 17 designated Dark Sky Preserves in Canada.
Jasper is the world's second largest Dark Sky Preserve and the largest accessible Dark Sky Preserve because the town of Jasper sits within the limits of the preserve. The designation means local rules and bylaws defend the night against light pollution.
Peter McMahon, general manager of the planetarium, remembers a conversation he had with a colleague, Gloria Keyes-Brady with Parks Canada, in 2010. "I talked with her about dark sky preserves; those are all over Canada. Gloria said, 'We should become one of those.'"
Another colleague, Rogier Gruys, was also instrumental in making the designation happen.
"He did the application to the Royal Astronomy Society in Canada, got interns, did measurements, made recommendations to the town," McMahon said.
The town gave a thumbs-up to installing dark sky lighting to reduce light pollution in parts of downtown Jasper, along Connaught Drive, and at areas at Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge where the planetarium is located.
"There weren't many changes made, just because Jasper is already dark," McMahon said.
More conversations followed and Parks Canada started the popular Dark Sky Festival, which has been running for more than a decade.
McMahon and colleagues talked some more.
"We thought there's more that could be done, past the Dark Sky Preserve weekend," he said.
A choice was made to go with a planetarium over an observatory because it's weather-proof. McMahon said attendance started slowly - "We got a few people here and there."
Fast forward to today: it's not uncommon to have 50 to 100 people there each day in the summer season.
McMahon said the busiest month is October, and there's notable attendance during the Christmas season too.
Initially, the COVID-19 pandemic slowed the pace down at the planetarium.
In June attendance was at about 50 per cent, but it didn't take long for attendance to pick up.
"In July, we were close to the number of people we had last July," McMahon said. He added August is expected to be busy too.
"It seems to be a lot more resilient to the current situation in the world than we ever thought it could be," McMahon said.
"It's a testament to how unique the product is. People see it as a 'bucket list' thing."
With COVID-19 protocol in place, more shows have been added to the schedule.
"As time slots sell out, we add additional times," McMahon said.
And with their "touchless telescope experience", McMahon said, "We have three, four telescopes each connected to a camera system that allows viewing on a screen. [You can see] distant galaxies and nebulas."
He said the screens offer a brighter, more colourful view than the telescopes themselves.
Jasper Planetarium offers virtual guided ‘tours’ of the dark sky live with knowledgeable astronomy guides in its 40-seat domed theatre at Jasper Park Lodge. Orbit the earth, looking down on night time storms and the auroras. Explore local constellations, the Northern Lights, the Milky Way, and right to the edge of the universe from Jasper Dark Sky Preserve.
These tours are complemented by the Telescope Experiences outside the planetarium - an interactive guided tour of the largest, most powerful telescope in the Rockies with an explanation of how telescopes work, a look at the latest archived imagery from telescopes in Jasper and how to photograph the sky with your DSLR camera.
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