Maligne Lake, Jasper National Park, Alberta

Under a blanket of stars. Jasper Dark Sky Festival is here

Why settle for a planetarium ceiling when Jasper can give you the real thing? That's rather the point of the Jasper Dark Sky Festival, which kicks off today and runs until October 25. The annual event grew from celebrations surrounding Jasper National Park's 2011 designation as a Dark Sky Preserve. The idea is simple: protect natural darkness, then give people plenty of reasons to appreciate it.

Expect telescope viewing, astronomy talks, planetarium shows, science activities and guided experiences designed to make the night sky a little less mysterious. Songwriter Afie Jurvanen, aka Bahamas, takes the stage before 'Love Letters From the Moon,' a drone show that turns the night sky into the next act. Other sessions bring astronomers and their telescopes outdoors for closer looks at the Moon and distant celestial objects. And when daylight returns, Maligne Lake supplies another spectacular change of scenery. At 22 kilometres long, this glacier-fed lake is the largest natural lake in the Canadian Rockies.