CASTELLANA CAVES: PRISMA PROJECT PRESENTED
OF THE ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY
Castellana Grotte, June 6, 2017 – Not just wonderful karst cavities in the Castellana Caves complex.
The SIRIO Astronomical Observatory, directed by Professor Nicola Rizzi, has been operating for several years at the “Franco Anelli” Museum.
The Castellana Caves Society, chaired by Marica Pace and Professor Rizzi, presented to the press today the PRISMA project (First Italian Network for the Systematic Surveillance of Meteors and the Atmosphere). The project envisions the creation of a network of cameras in Italy—and, in the future, international connections—for the observation of bright meteors ("bolides"), in order to determine their orbits and delineate, with a good degree of approximation, the areas where meteorites may potentially strike Earth.
Meteorites are the primary source of information on the early history of the Solar System, its formation mechanisms, and the material from which the Sun and planets formed. Beyond the astrophysical aspect, continuous sky images (night and day) will also allow for systematic monitoring of cloud cover and atmospheric electrical activity. These data could be of great importance for validating meteorological and climate models.
This is a project of the highest scientific profile.
The ultimate goal of the Prisma project is to create a network of observation stations (currently nine cameras are operating in Italy), with a mesh size of no more than 100 km, extending across the entire peninsula. Once completed, this network could be interconnected with similar programs already in operation or underway in France, Spain, and Central Europe.
The Castellana Caves Society welcomed Professor Rizzi's proposal and equipped the SIRIO Observatory with the necessary equipment. Last December, the Castellana Caves Board of Directors approved the purchase of the astronomical observation chamber, which saw its first light on May 28th.
By simply clicking on the link www.fripon.org/IMG/jpg/stations/RT_ITPU01.jpg, you can view the image of the sky captured live (the camera provides an image every 10 minutes). Anyone can therefore witness a fireball (in the case of a cosmic event) or any type of atmospheric event.
The Castellana Caves are a natural wonder, a cultural hub, and a top-level scientific center for speleology and astronomy.
Castellana Caves – A Wonder of Puglia
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