Night of San Lorenzo, how to see the racing stars at the best with the advice of the Italian Astrofili Union

«It is now known that the maximum of the weather swarm has moved forward, it is no longer the night of San Lorenzo. It is therefore advisable to extend the observations on subsequent nights, 11 and even more the night between 12 and 13 August ». This is the Council, in terms of falling stars, by Paolo Volpini which is part of the Commission for disclosure of the Italian Astrophilic Union, among the authors of the address book The sky of the month.

Perseid

The phenomenon of falling is due to the impact with the atmosphere of the powders left to the passages of the Comet Swift-Tuttlediscovered in 1862, whose last passage dates back to 1992 because this periodic chiomato star returns every 135 years. They burn and leave a trail in the sky. It was the Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli, in the nineteenth century, to connect meteors and comets. The phenomenon is cyclical, visible every year. The Romans played it as a propitious rain. It was the god Priapo who sent it to fertilize the land of the fields.

The story: because San Lorenzo

The popular tradition connects the astral phenomenon to the Martyrdom of San Lorenzo, which was burned in 258, whose anniversary is celebrated on August 10. Tears remember the burning coal of martyrdom. The fame of the night of San Lorenzo was also amplified by a poem: X August by Giovanni Pascoli. The poet composed it in memory of his father Ruggero, assassinated in mysterious circumstances on August 10, 1867.The incipit is this: “San Lorenzo, I know because a lot of stars for the quiet air burns and falls, so that we really cry in the billed heaven”.

For years these nights have corresponded with Calici di Stelle The initiative made in collaboration with MTV, Wine Tourism Movement.

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How to choose the best position to see the shooting stars

«As always, when you want to enjoy the show of the night sky, you have to choose places not affected by light pollution, therefore far from sources of artificial light. In the countryside, on a beach away from the inhabited centers ». The Perseids are so called because the “radiant”, the point from which they seem to come, is found In the constellation of the Perseus, which in the late evening is located in the north-east. «But you don’t have to look in force in that direction, on the contrary! From there The bright trails radiate in all directions. We can say that when the Perseus is still low on the horizon we will not see Perside on the opposite side of the radiant, so we can focus less on the south-west. Since our visual field cannot cover the whole sky, the advice is to meet in the group, get comfortable (a deck chair, a mattress …) and divide the sky areas to be monitored ».

The best places ever are the less accessible ones. “Some small islands, the interior of Sardinia, some alpine areas, the most isolated places in the Apennines, discreet remains part of the Tuscan Maremma”.

August, Tenerife – rain of shooting stars

If we lose the night of San Lorenzo what other occasions we have

«The full moon is August 9th. In the following days the moon will rise later and initially will be low in the sky. As already mentioned, the maximum of activity is around August 12, when the lunar disorder will also arrive later. So The best time is the late evening of August 12th. At the beginning of the evening the Perseus is too low on the horizon and the meteors will be few, but later we will have some more possibilities. Around midnight the moon will already be tall in heaven and will increase the disturbance of its light … however, attempting does not harm, and in any case there are many other things to see. For those who love to get up early (or stay awake all night) before the dawn of August 12 (attention, we are talking about the last hours of the night between 11 and 12) a fantastic occurs conjunction between the planets brighter, Venus and Jupiter! On the evening of 12, if you see a few meteors, you can console yourself by recognizing Saturn, who will rise near the moon ».

Who to dedicate the first thought to

«The meteors are bright trails generated by a rocky fragment that falls from the sky and that sometimes survives the impact. Thus remains a meteorite, that scientists can study to understand the origins of the sun system. One of the most famous cases, in which the wake (the “fireball”) was seen, the meteorite was found (very rare event), is that of Cavezzo (Modena), in 2020. The event made news, also because to find the meteorite was a dog, the pimpa (Last year he met his master, Davide Gaddi ed), recently dead. For us enthusiasts, the Pimpa is the most famous dog since Laika’s times on Sputnik 2. What do you say to dedicate the first “falling star” to the memory of the pimpa that we will see by observing the Perseids? “.


Source: Vanity Fair

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