August 4, 2022 - Warm August nights in Croatia are a blessing in areas where the air is clean, the surroundings are calm, and there is no light pollution. The country kids know it, rare are the activities that could match lying down with snacks and drinks to watch the Perseid meteor showers. The Croatian Astronomical Society calls for lights off to make a beatiful summer night even better.
As Glas Slavonije writes, like every summer around the memorial day of St. Lovre (August 10), the maximum activity of the Perseid meteor shower occurs. This year, according to forecasts, the maximum will occur on the night between August 11 and 12. Astronomical societies, united in the Croatian Astronomical Union, are organising various astronomical activities, because apart from the most beautiful meteor shower of the year, telescopes will be able to view Saturn and Jupiter, as well as the Moon. The Orion Astronomical Society and the Croatian Astronomical Union are inviting cities and municipalities to turn off public lighting between August 11 and 12 from midnight to morning, so that the residents can enjoy this celestial spectacle as much as possible.
“We invite all citizens to a joint observation from the location of Bajera from 10 pm, in addition to which an observation of the night sky with a telescope will be organized. As the 12th ARLA Festival, whose theme is space, will also take place at that time, we ask the City of Đakovo to turn off public lighting on August 12 from 10 pm, in order to continue the observation from the lawn below Strossmayer Park. An average activity of about 140 meteors per hour is forecast, and the conditions for observation will be reduced by the fact that the Moon is almost full”, points out the president of the Orion Đakovo Astronomical Society, Danko Kočiš.
Kočis also provided instructions for observation. “Do not look directly at the radiant (starting point of the meteor shower), you will notice the least meteors there, no special equipment (telescopes, binoculars, etc.) is needed to observe meteors, because meteors are observed with the naked eye lying on the ground, and it is necessary to spend at least 30 minutes in the dark to allow your eyes to adapt to the night conditions. You need to move away from the area where there is lighting and light pollution into as good a darkness as possible. Also, you need a mat, a deck chair, or a sleeping bag on which you can lie down during observation”, instructs the president of the Astronomical Society Orion Đakovo, Danko Kočiš.
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