THEhe start of the summer always brings with it a natural desire to be outdoors and the starry sky becomes the natural setting for summer evenings. June, then, it is the month of the summer solstice, which on the 21st at 10.24am will officially mark the start of the hottest season. This appointment will be preceded by a guest capable of giving a pinch of magic to the nights of June. These are the Sagittaridesa meteor shower certainly less famous than the famous shooting stars of August, but no less fascinating.
Sagittarides, starting with wishes for the shooting stars of June
Unlike the most well-known and publicized astronomical phenomena, which concentrate their spectacular nature in a few hours, Sagittarius choose the path of discretion and constancy. According to the experts of the UAI, the Italian Amateur Astronomers’ Union, this meteor shower, in fact, passes through the entire month of June. There their origin visible in the sky, It is located in the constellation Sagittarius. Being an area of the sky rich in other small summer meteoric flows, the Sagittarides merge into a single, continuous luminous dance, making the entire month of June a long prelude to summer.
The perfect time to look at the sky
If it is true that these meteors do not like twists and turns they prefer to be desired over the course of several weeks, the universe still decided to give a special gift for this edition. The evening of the theoretical maximum of the swarm is scheduled for June 15th and this year will coincide with the New Moon this year. This detail is only apparently technical: the New Moon, in fact, indicates the phase in which our satellite is entirely in shadow, leaving the sky completely darkan ideal dark canvas, where even the weakest and most delicate light trails can shine in all their beauty. The observation conditions will therefore be optimal.
An extraordinary astronomical coincidence turns off the spotlights of our satellite precisely during the peak of the Sagittaride shooting stars. (Getty Images)
A practical guide to seeing the Sagittarides
To best enjoy this show you don’t need sophisticated telescopes or scientific skills. Nature offers its beauty to anyone who knows how to wait patiently. To intercept the Sagittarides you just need to follow a few simple precautions which will transform observation into a real well-being ritual. First of all, seek the darkness away from the citya meadow on a hill, a secluded beach or a garden away from street lights. So, accustom your eyes to the darknessalso forgetting the smartphone and finally look south-eastthe constellation of Sagittarius, from which these meteors appear to arise.
Protect and enjoy the night
Alongside the visual beauty, the observation of the June sky brings with it some concrete reflections on the way in which we experience the relationship with the nocturnal environment. In recent years, science and ecology have placed much emphasis on the problem of light pollutionthat is, the excess of artificial light that illuminates our cities and which, in fact, cancels the visibility of almost all the stars. Choose to turn off unnecessary lights and seek dark places, therefore, it’s not just a way to see the Sagittarides better, but it also represents a gesture of awareness towards an ecosystem, the nocturnal one, fundamental for the biological rhythms of plants, animals and man himself.