The night of San Lorenzo, ‘We are children of shooting stars’

Heavy metals in the stream, 15 hectare landfill seized (ANSA)

The classic appointment with the shooting stars of San Lorenzothe Perseid meteors whose peak is expected between 11 and 13 August. After a memorable 2021, this year’s show will be compromised by the full Moon, so it is better to anticipate the observations of a couple of nights or wait for the final part of the night. Punctual as every year the Perseids return, also known as the Tears of San Lorenzo, due to the dust grains left by comet Swift-Tuttle that burn on impact with the Earth’s atmosphere, producing spectacular trails of light in the sky. The peak this year will be in the nights between 11 and 13 August during which, in conditions of perfect visibility, in very dark places, up to 100 meteors could be observed per hour.

“After a memorable 2021, by 2022 the observing conditions of the Perseids will be decidedly less favorable”, he commented. Gianluca Masi, Scientific Head of the Virtual Telescope. To circumvent the problem, it may therefore be advisable to play in advance by aiming for, for example, the nights of 9 or 10 August or wait for the sunset of the Moon, in the final part of the night during which, for astronomical reasons, there is a peak: ” since at dawn the observer is on the part of the Earth that advances along its orbit towards the cometary dust – added Masi – it is as if he saw from the “windshield”, rather than from the rear “window” of our planet. at the setting of the moon, it therefore guarantees good results.

The ‘tears of San Lorenzo’ arrive but with a full moon

Source: Ansa

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