The Point Pelee Perseid Pilgrimage

 

Graduate School is about more than just research. It's about friends, adventures and awe. All of us got into planetary science for a reason. Maybe it was a night under the majesty of the stars. Or a fascination with rocks, spaceships, exploration stories or the swirling eddies of the atmosphere or ocean. Regardless of the form, there is some wellspring, deep within each of us. We must return occasionally to such places to find our way through the darkness. 
This week, new MSc Ethan Foley reflects on such a journey to observe a meteor shower, radiating from the constellation Perseus as shown above. 

by Ethan Foley

Greetings blog, another new MSc student here: I am Ethan and I am happy to be here! It has been a long time coming with me initially reaching out to John in August 2025 (far earlier than typical for a masters position). I am co-supervised out of Western by John’s longtime colleague and podcast co-host Catherine Neish. I have a background in engineering from the University of Ottawa, but I am trading it in for planetary science here at York. My primary project here at PVL will be working with the MAGE instrument of previous blog fame, with some additional remote sensing projects on Mars and Mars analogues. I have been keeping very busy between reading about my projects, prepping for TAing, miscellaneous admin tasks for two different university institutions, and class! But enough about my background and now for the main story of the blog post. 

Over the past summer I was at Western University working under professor Neish doing radar analysis of Mars analogues. Residing in London, I was missing the extensive selection of hiking trails in the Ottawa/Gatineau region. Another member of the Neish Lab brought up a potential lab expedition to observe the Perseid meteor shower and mentioned Point Pelee National Park as a potential viewing area. With none of us having been to Point Pelee, and the peak of the meteor shower coincidentally landing on a new moon and a partial (VERY partial) solar eclipse, it seemed quite literally that the stars aligned for this event. 

Some short background on meteor showers and observing meteor showers, a hobby quite common among planetary scientists and astronomers alike. Meteor showers occur when the Earth passes through the track of cometary debris left in a comet's orbit. Comets constantly shed dust grains that are micron to marble-sized particles in their orbit. When the earth runs into these particles, they burn up in the atmosphere causing the fiery display. The showers are not named after their originating comet but rather the part of the sky the meteors appear to originate from, or the radiant. For example, the shower we were observing is called the Perseids, as it originates from the constellation Perseus. Since the showers are based on where the earth is in its orbit, they peak on an annual basis. Sometimes, when the comet has just recently passed through the inner solar system, there will be significantly increased amounts of cometary debris leading to some insane spectacles. The 1966 Leonid storm is marked by the Guinness World Records for having achieved a staggering 2300 meteors a minute at its peak.  

 

https://www.dummies.com/article/academics-the-arts/science/astronomy/viewing-meteor-showers-246756/ Diagram showing the alignment that causes meteor showers

That's enough background for now, so back to the story. Leaving London at roughly 12 pm, we had plenty of time to explore the park and nearby town before the expected peak of the shower at 2 am. Our first stop was Leamington, Ontario, apparently the “Tomato Capital of Canada,” duly named, as it hosted the Heinz company’s tomato processing plant from 1908 to 2014. More important to the Neish lab expedition members was that Leamington has the highest concentration of Mexican restaurants in Ontario, resulting in some very full and happy lab members. 

The team needed some walking to digest their meal, so exploring the trails of the park was up next. The park was home to an extensive wetland, the biggest waves I have seen not on the ocean, and many, many sea birds. During our exploration, the weather was completely overcast, worrying our team that atmospheric thermodynamics would spoil our chances of seeing any meteors. Anyways, there was plenty of time and more activities to do while we waited. 

 

Me (Left) and Neish Lab member Kyleshaquil Fred Velez (Right) pondering the beauty of the universe

As the hours ticked down, we made another trip back to Leamington for more Mexican food and then watched a presentation given by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) Windsor branch on the science of meteor showers to the many attendees. We then made for the point and climbed up to the observation deck before being greeted by intense winds and a view over gloomy Lake Erie.  

Lake Erie from the not very high observation tower, I did not want to lose my phone over the edge with the wind.   

The sun retreated, and with one more stop in Leamington for some much-needed caffeine, night was upon us. We returned to the park following the train of cars (not the most conducive environment for viewing faint astronomical objects), found parking at the lot, and exited the car. We were starstruck as we realized we were able to make out the big dipper asterism immediately, revealing to us that the clouds had largely cleared from view (our forecast on cleardarksky had predicted this). It was roughly midnight so we sought out a spot on the west shore where the RASC had set up. With some snacks, some shivering, and lots of patience, we began observing. We were early before the appearance of Perseus in the west but still recorded a modest 10 or so meteors an hour. As 2 am rolled around, it seemed the sky came alive. At its peak it was practically a meteor a minute, aligning with the predicted 50 meteors an hour of historical Perseid meteor showers. Drifting in and out of consciousness, lying on the sand, I must have caught at least 70 meteors and missed hundreds more I am sure. 

As 4 am hit, we made the necessary decision to head home. Our driver was exhausted and re-caffeinated for the two hour drive, and this marked the end to an extremely successful pilgrimage to Point Pelee. Was it a great time? Yes! Was this blog only written because I thought of the funny alliteration for the title? Also yes. This rounds off my first blog, and I hope there will be many similar adventures here at PVL. 

Jack and the EALCWA

 

Today, we welcome a new MSc student to the group, Jack Mitchell. He joins us from Perdue University by way of the Utah Conservation Corps. In the article below, he describes a formative experience in the gap between the end of undergraduate studies and the start of grad school here at York. The very best scientific academic experiences achieve something similar, evoking an awe of nature while surrounded by friends with good work to share.
In the collage above: sunset and moonrise at Zion National Park (top left), canyoneering in Zion (top right), snow day in the Tushar Mountains, (bottom left) my crew prepping for a 10-mile hike to the bottom of the Escalante River Valley (bottom right)

by Jack Mitchell 

Hello PVL Blog! My name is Jack, and I have recently joined the PVL as a new MSc student. I am an international student from a nice little state called Indiana (shoutout Hoosiers! I’m still not sure why we’re called that, but it’s part of my title). I completed my undergrad at Purdue University, dual-majoring in Planetary Science and Geology/Geophysics.  

For this blog post, I thought I would introduce myself by discussing my year between undergrad and now. I think it is awesome to hear other people’s stories for how they ended up where they are today, so I thought I would provide that for all you readers at home. So, sit back, relax, and let me recount the tale of Jack and his Epic, Awesome, Life-Changing Western Adventure (EALCWA for short).  

In the early days, long before Jack’s inevitable arrival in the far land of Toronto... (I am having too much fun with blogging, I’ll dial it back a smidge :)). I graduated in the fall of 2025 and knew that I wanted to continue doing planetary science research. So, while I applied to graduate schools, I also pursued another dream of mine, working out west in the National Parks. I always thought it would be awesome to work outdoors and make a meaningful difference through conservation efforts while educating others in the process. This sparked my decision to work with the Utah Conservation Corps (UCC). 

This was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Without exaggerating too much, it was life changing. The lifestyle was unique: living in a tent for months, working 10 days straight, 10-hours a day, out in the middle of nowhere with no reception, and being stuck with a crew of 4 other people to pass the time when you're not working. Speaking of no reception, it was a struggle to communicate with Dr. Moores about the PVL. When I was first added to the Slack group, I sent my first message while trying to fix a chainsaw in the middle of the Tushar Mountains. Luckily, I got days off where I could have a Zoom meeting in a library parking lot. Thank you again, Dr. Moores, for working with my unique schedule. 

One of my favorite hitches was working in the backcountry of the Grand Staircase-Escalante River Valley. Ten days of nothing but the items I had in my 65-pound backpack (what a workout), my 4 friends, and a hatchet. Having to walk upstream for 10 miles, bushwhacking to shortcut meandering rivers, and running into a million spiderwebs was an experience I’ll never forget. What got us through was each other. We made sure to keep our spirits high in so many ways. One of my crewmates recited the entirety of “The Lego Movie” from memory, our team leader surprised us with a whole watermelon in his 80-pound pack, along with a cast iron pan for making cinnamon rolls (I will forever love him for this), and together we would sing random songs for hours (my favorite was Payphone by Maroon 5).   
 

 Image: the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time), Eric, chopping up a delicious watermelon after a long workday 

After chopping up all the Russian Olive trees we could find in 10 days, we did the 10-mile hike back to our vehicles. My pack weighed a little less, which was great, but the return trip was almost entirely uphill. Our bodies and minds were fried in the last stretch of hiking. When we could finally see the vehicles in the distance, for some reason my best friend Will and I decided to start walking faster, which soon ended in a full-out sprint to the trucks. Even though my body could not walk another mile, I was so happy just being with my friends and found myself racing like a kid towards the end of our journey together. 

There are so many more stories I could tell about my time with the UCC, but I don’t want to take up too much time on this blog (you can ask me about wag bags in person if you’d like, though it might trigger some unwanted flashbacks). 

This whole experience was one of the hardest things I have ever done, but also the most rewarding. Looking back, I wouldn’t change a single second. 

So what did I take from this experience? Three main things: 

First, I got to make a real, physical impact. Not only did I get to take part in invasive species management and forest fire fuel reduction, but I also had the opportunity to teach others about the importance of conservation. Getting to explain our work and seeing how it positively affected local communities was the kind of outdoor, educational work I’d always hoped for. 

Second, I made some of my best friends. If you had told me going in that I’d walk out with a group of great friends, that I’d cry saying goodbye to each of them, and that I’d eat close to a hundred peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, I might have believed the last one because it’s a cheap and easy meal that tastes so yummy. These friendships taught me that the people you work alongside, these human connections, are what make life so great. 

Third, I was happy. I wasn’t sure what would come out of this job, but I took it anyway, and it turned out to hold some of the happiest moments of my life. That’s the whole lesson, really. Do something that excites you or makes you happy. If you end up doing something that makes you happier than you were, I believe you are doing something right. 

Returning to present day in the tale of Jack’s EALCYA (Epic, Awesome, Life-Changing York Adventure), I am super excited to be a part of the PVL group for the foreseeable future. The same things that made the UCC great (good people and a group that supports each other) are what have drawn me to this lab. To the members of the PVL reading this, thank you for being so welcoming and supportive. You’re a big part of why I’m happy where I am right now.  

That’s the end of my story for now. I hope you enjoyed it, and I’m excited to see where this new journey with the PVL takes me. 

 Photo: my trusty backpack taking in one of the most beautiful views in the world.