The evenings organized at the Sirio astronomical observatory in the Castellana Caves are back again this year: a unique opportunity to admire star clusters, planets, and galaxies with the naked eye and through telescopes.
The aim of the Sustainable Islands
The Astronomical Observatory was founded in 2000 at the suggestion of Professor Nicola Rizzi, who is responsible for outreach, education, and research for the public. Experiences with schools and tourists since 2000 have highlighted the facility's cultural potential and, consequently, its potential as a major tourist attraction.
Visit
Visits to the Sirio astronomical observatory last approximately 2,5 hours and include:
An multimedia introduction to Astronomy with the aid of a video projector;
Observing the sky with the naked eye: recognition of the main constellations, recognition of the brightest stars (including Polaris and therefore recognition of the cardinal points, Arcturus, Spica, Antares, Vega, Altair, Deneb);
Observing the sky with automatic telescopes of the observatory (70 and 250 mm aperture); during the observation of the various celestial objects on the program, useful information will be provided with the help of films and images.
During the visit it will be possible to observe Mars, Saturn, some globular star clusters (M13, M92, M3), some open star clusters (M23, M25, M22), some multiple stars (e.g. Mizar and Albireo), the planetary nebula (M57), the Moon (present in the sky on 4, 6, 8, 12, 13 August) and the galaxy M31.
When to participate
The dates for the evenings organized at the Sirio astronomical observatory are:
July 25, 29, 31 (at 21:00 PM)
August 4, 6, 8, 12, 13, 18, 20, 22, 26, 27, 29 (at 22:00 PM)
How to participate
The evenings are held outdoors by reservation only (minimum 15 participants, maximum 30); the individual admission fee is €7 for adults, while the fee for children aged 6 to 12 is €4.
In case of bad weather, visits will be postponed with advance notice to participants.
For information and to book a visit, call 3398344744.
