Appointment with the shooting stars of Halley's Comet, scheduled for tomorrow, May 5th at dawn. Too bad that the light of the Moon could obscure the show.
THowever, starting at 4,00:76 in the morning, just before the Moon sets and just before the Sun rises, there is a narrow observation window to try to see the brightest meteors. "It is a famous shower because it is linked to Halley's comet which is also linked to another shower, the Orionids, meteors visible in autumn" astrophysicist Gianluca Masi, founder and director of the Virtual Telescope, told ANSA. Every time Halley's comet visits the inner Solar System, every 7 years, it leaves behind a trail of fragments. When the Earth, along its orbit, crosses this cloud of debris, these fragments break into its atmosphere, burning and producing the bright trail. The name of these meteors is instead linked to the constellation from which they seem to emerge, that of Aquarius. “It is a low constellation on the horizon and for observation – explains Masi – the southern hemisphere is certainly favored over the northern one”. For the same reason, he adds, in Italy these meteors are better seen from the southern regions. Furthermore, the astrophysicist notes, “the light of the almost full Moon looms over this year’s Eta Aquarid shower. The full Moon is in fact on May XNUMX”.
The Moon will only leave the 'disturbance' at 5 in the morning, when it will set, but at that time the twilight of dawn will have already begun because the Sun is preparing to rise. Consequently, according to Masi, the best time to attempt the observation is "around 4,00:XNUMX when the Moon will be low, starting to set, and with a bit of luck we will be able to appreciate the brightest ones".
Article published on May 4, 2020 - 16:23 pm
