That centre is set up at our Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory, here in the Okanagan. The second event was the awarding of the Order of Canada to astronomer Jack Locke. He was the first Director of DRAO and one of the team of Canadian scientists who were the first in the world to succeed in making VLBI work, using Earth-based radio telescopes, thousands of kilometers apart. The astronomical highlight of August is this year's Perseid meteor shower. Every year the Earth crosses the orbit of Comet Swift Tuttle.
Comets are quite messy things.
As the Sun evaporates their material, they gradually disintegrate, so that after a while their orbits become streams of grit, gravel, pebbles and perhaps larger objects. These are orbiting the Sun at tens of thousands of kilometers an hour, and the Earth will plough across the stream at a similar speed. This year it happens on the night of 11th to 12th. The Perseids are named because if you look upstream during the shower, the shooting stars appear to be coming from the direction of the constellation Perseus, which will lie in the Northeast on the nights of the show. Enjoying the Perseids is easy.