like watching shooting stars…

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The “tears of San Lorenzo” cut the dark sky on the night of August 10th: the perfect time is coming again this year to watch the shooting stars. Indeed, this year the low luminosity of the Moon (about 10%) should allow us to fully enjoy the passage of the Perseids, the small meteorites that cross the sky and look like stars falling towards our planet. But how best to observe the shooting stars on the night of San Lorenzo?

How to observe the shooting stars for the night of San Lorenzo 2023

This fascinating celestial event requires the choice of the right place, the necessary time and an understanding of what exactly these “stars” that furrow the firmament are, where they come from and when they cross the sky.

What are the shooting stars of San Lorenzo?

Despite the evocative and romantic names, such as “shooting stars” and “tears of San Lorenzo”, these astronomical events they are not stars, but meteorites. It’s a bunch of high-speed burning space debris as it passes through the earth’s atmosphere at about 60 km/s (therefore 21,600 km/h).

These meteorites originated from aa comet called 109P/Swift-Tuttle, discovered in 1962 by Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle. This celestial body, made up of ice-covered rocks, orbits the Sun. It takes 133 years to complete a full orbit and the last time it crossed this orbit was in 1992.

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When the comet approaches the Sun, releases debris, known as meteorites, that become part of the phenomenon of Perseids – so named because the stars appear to come from the constellation Perseus, from the earth.

Every year, as the Earth completes its revolution around the Sun, it passes through this debris, which enters the Earth’s atmosphere with an exceptionally high speed. Due to the friction with atmospheric gas molecules, these meteorites heat up intensely. During the Perseids, some of them burn at 1,650 degrees Celsius and are transformed into fireball, or “balls of fire”, which shine brighter than other meteorites.

So this is the phenomenon you’re looking at: meteor debris, burning up in our atmosphere.

When to see the shooting stars of San Lorenzo?

Giovanni Pascoli titled his poem “X Agosto” in which he spoke of the “cry of stars” that flooded our planet. But actually the phenomenon lasts about a month every year – and it has already begun.

As In The Sky reports, the Perseids span the night sky from July 17 to August 24 this year. But the peak in which we will be able to see more shooting stars, also thanks to the low luminosity of the Moon, it will be August 13 this year – three days after the official date of San Lorenzo.

If you are looking for the best time to see them, when about 150 shooting stars will pass per hour, unfortunately there is a problem. The meteorites will be at their highest point in the sky (and therefore best seen) at about 7am, so after sunrise. When the sun blows them out of sight. So the best time to see shooting stars this year will be just before sunrise, which on August 13 will be at 6:19. So better start looking at the stars in the half hour before six in the morning. You can choose whether to stay up or wake up early.

However, from Italy the stars will remain visible all night above the horizon, so you can observe them throughout the night. And even if you can’t go out and look at the sky on the 13th, even in the days before and after you should find some Perseids. Just find the right place.

Some tips to enjoy the Perseids

The first and fundamental advice is to look for an area with dark skies. This implies the distance from artificial light sources. In urban areas, visibility will be limited due to city lights. Often it is enough to move a little away from the brightest areas to see some shooting stars. For optimal vision, however, it is necessary go to extremely dark places, such as a house in the countryside, a deserted beach or a mountain hut.

The second piece of advice is to devote the necessary time to observation. Searching for the first stars may require some patience, especially if the sky is partly cloudy. In addition, the eyes take up to twenty minutes to get used to low light. Avoid distractions such as checking your smartphone frequently, as you may miss the sight of many shooting stars: it’s not only distracting, but it’s that your eyes will have to get used to it again.

Finally, if you have a binoculars available, bring them with you. Even better if you have a telescope. No: they are not used to see shooting stars. But you can enjoy them up close and maybe even explore the stars (the real ones) between one meteorite and another.

For the rest: bring drinks and food if you like them, sit comfortably and wait. The show will be worth it.

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