Like every year , the magical night of San Lorenzo has returned. August 10th has become a long-awaited moment, not only for astronomy enthusiasts but also for the curious , who hope to glimpse a shooting star and make a wish. But the saint's tears, streaking rapidly across the night sky, are none other than the Perseids , and—contrary to what one might think—the peak of meteors will be between August 12th and 13th.

After last year's peak, 2025 looks set to be less rich—thanks to yesterday's full Moon—but during the peak, we'll still be able to see around ten per hour. "After a nearly ideal 2024, the observing conditions for the Perseids will be decidedly less favorable in 2025," said astrophysicist Gianluca Masi, scientific director of the Virtual Telescope Project. This doesn't mean, however, that we won't be able to observe the brightest meteors, around ten per hour, a number obviously dependent on weather conditions and the presence of light sources . These aren't shooting stars, but rather small particles left behind by the tail of the comet Swift-Tuttle during its periodic passages around the Sun. As they penetrate the Earth's atmosphere at great speed, they burn up due to friction, leaving their characteristic trail in the sky .

"The meteors will be observable at any time ," Masi added, "but in the second half of the night there is a significant increase, since at dawn the observer is on the part of the Earth advancing along its orbit towards the comet dust, so it is as if he were seeing through the "windshield" rather than the rear "window" of our planet."

(Unioneonline/vf)

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