Luminous trails in the night, which enchant the gaze and make us hope that our dearest wishes will come true. The shooting stars of San Lorenzo they are an astronomical spectacle that both enthusiasts and the less experienced cannot miss. And even if this year it will not be easy to see them due to the moonlight, around 10 August it is always worth raising your eyes to the sky. We have therefore thought to advise you some apps, both for Android and iOS, that make it easier locate the Perseid shooting stars in the night sky.
Falling stars of San Lorenzo, the best apps to find them in the sky
The Perseids are among the most easily identifiable meteor showers in the sky. In fact, at the beginning of August, every year, our Earth passes through this cloud of meteorites, left by the passage of the comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle on our path around the sun. Every hour, about fifty of this debris crosses the sky has one speed of about 60 km / sheating up to become as bright as stars.
It is called Perseids Why we see them coming right from the constellation of Perseor, which lies just below Cassiopeia (easily recognizable by its ‘W’ shape). The distant stars of that constellation have nothing to do with the spectacle of shooting stars (which, in fact, are not stars but meteorites). But they serve as celestial ‘map’ to find the place from which you are most likely to see this spectacle of the night sky coming.
The less experienced, however, need not fear: there are several smartphone applications that allow you to easily identify this area of the sky, to understand where to look (or better still a binoculars or telescope). Even because, although around 13 August 2022 we should have a meteor peak (the shooting stars of San Lorenzo always last more than one night), this year finding them could be more difficult.
Indeed too strong light prevents vision of shooting stars. The Perseids ‘rain’ even during the day, but the sunlight prevents them from being seen. And the same is true if we try to look at them in the city, when the light of the street lamps prevents us from enjoying the show. This year, the Superluna will perhaps be too bright to see the tears of San Lorenzo come down from heaven: instead of the usual 40-60, we’ll see only about twenty very bright meteorites. But if you have the patience to wait until just before dawn, you could see a magnificent show. (More details in this guide article we wrote on the subject last year).
So here are the best apps for find the constellation of Perseus and seebe the shooting stars, even with the Superluna (which is still worth watching).
Sky Map, the satellite navigator of the night sky
To move many of us are used to using Google Maps. So we know that the Mountain View developers know their way around. For the sky, it works the same way. Sky Map part as a project of Googlenow developed in a open source.
You can use this app to identify constellations and make you panoint to the northeast and the Perseids, so as to find the shooting stars. And then you can keep using it to learn more about the visible stars in our hemisphere and keep your head up.
Sky Safari, an app for shooting stars and for all space curiosities
Sky Safari is one of the most complete apps for watching discover the night sky. Not only does it allow you to find celestial bodies and constellations in a snap, find information about over 120 thousand stars and planets by browsing the app.
Day ffunctionality AR allows you to easily find Perseus and Cassiopeia, stimulating your curiosity. Especially with the “Time travel“, Which allows you to see what the stars were like in the past (not even an Egyptian deity from Marvel). She will help you find the shooting stars and make you fall even more in love with the starry sky.
Star Chart, to find shooting stars with voice commands
With 120 stars and 88 constellations saved, the sky seen through Star Chart it will have no more secrets for you. Just point the smartphone camera to understand if that red dot you see in the sky is Mars or a star. Star Chart also has the functionality Time Shiftwhich allows you to watch up to 10 thousand years in the past to understand what the sky was like at the dawn of humanity.
But the most convenient function for those who want to use the app to find shooting stars on these nights are undoubtedly the voice commands. Just say: “Show me Perseus” to help you find her in the sky. And you can also see beautiful 3D renderings of objects visible in space. And it’s also free, on top of that.
Stellarium, to discover every secret of the sky
There are few apps for astronomy enthusiasts that are more comprehensive than Stellarium. This app connects to the database Gaia DR2that matters all 1.69 billion known stars, all known planets and comets, plus more than two million nebulae and galaxies. Not only can you see the known constellations in Italy but also those of other cultures, you can track the movements of artificial satellites and see splendid photographs and read complete explanations.
The free version has some advertising (quite discreet), but you can remove it and unlock extra features by paying for the Plus version. And you can deepen your knowledge of the stars with Stellarium monitoring software, used by many astronomers on all platforms. An app that does more than show you where the shooting stars are, for astronomy enthusiasts.
With these tools you should have no problem finding the Perseids. Now you just have to look for a dark placearm yourself with patience e passion for the starry sky. And look up.