Towns in Switzerland to switch off their lights to help locals see meteor shower
By Jan de Boer
To help locals catch a glimpse of the Perseid meteor shower in Switzerland, councils across French-speaking parts of the country have agreed to switch off their lights for one night. 130 towns have agreed to participate in the event, due to take place on the night of August 12 to 13, 2022.
Update: To find out how to watch the event in 2023, check out our latest guide to the Perseids meteor shower in Switzerland.
Perseid meteor shower to peak in Switzerland on night of August 12
Every summer in the middle of August, people across the country look up to the night sky to try and see the shooting stars of the Perseid meteor shower. In 2022, the peak of the shower is forecast for the night of August 12 to 13, with nearly 200 meteorites set to cross the sky every hour.
To celebrate this stunning natural phenomenon, 130 localities in the Romande region have agreed to switch off their publicly controlled lights, to help residents see the peak of the meteor shower. The event is organised by the Perseids Project, an organisation whose future goal is to turn off all artificial light across Europe to celebrate the arrival of the Perseid shower.
Lausanne set to cut the lights in two districts to help see meteors
The city of Lausanne has announced that it will be opening several observatories to the public on the night of August 12, and two traffic-free zones will be plunged into darkness as part of the event - set to be the quay and park in Ouchy and the park around Lake Sauvabelin. Morges, La Chaux-de-Fonds and Neuchâtel are some of the other cities that have agreed to shut off their lights.
According to 20 minuten, despite the good weather, the only fly in the ointment for organisers is that the night of August 12 will also see a “sturgeon” supermoon - named after the fact that many Native American tribes around the Great Lakes took a supermoon in August as a sign to start sturgeon fishing. The moon is set to be larger and brighter than usual, which may make some shooting stars harder to see.
Regardless, we hope you enjoy this stunning natural phenomenon. For more information about which towns will be switching off their lights, check out the Perseid Project’s website.
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Jan studied History at the University of York and Broadcast Journalism at the University of Sheffield. Though born in York, Jan has lived most of his life in Zurich and has worked as a journalist, writer and editor since 2016.
While he has plunged head-first back into life in Switzerland since returning to the country in 2020, he still enjoys a taste of home at pub quizzes and karaoke nights.Read more