Falling star at Planetarium

It's a sight that can be seen several times every year but during the summer months with little cloud, there is better vision from Earth.
Salvador Sanchez, the Director of the Majorcan Planetarium said yesterday that this year, the full moon is making it difficult to get a good look at the “falling stars” which are locally known as “The Tears of Saint Lawrence.” However, over the past few days, Sanchez said, there have been faint sightings of the tiny remains of the meteorites as they nose-dive into the Earth's atmosphere and burn brightly as they disintegrate without touching the surface of the planet.

The Planetarium in Costitx is the finest in the country due to the quality of its 200 square metre dome. Visitors will also be able to see in real time through the use of a remote camera, the progress that is being made in NASA's Project “Dawn.” Since July this year, a robotic telescope has been circling an asteroid, “Vesta” continually taking photographs. The telescope will remain in place for a total of one year and will then go on to track another asteroid “Ceres.” Both these asteroids are orbiting between Mars and Jupiter and their observation is the second most important mission of NASA after its project to lay the groundwork for a station on Mars.

Those who want to go to the Planetarium tomorrow should send an email to “cienciaplanetarium@gmail.com.”