The telescopes (and apps) to observe the stars in San Lorenzo

All to see the stars and observe the sky with smartphones and professional devices

(Photo: Pixabay) Observing the shooting stars is one of the traditions of August, with the Perseids that will have their peak after the night of San Lorenzo, on days 11, 12 and 13. To prepare for the occasion, here is a selection of the best applications to orient yourself in the firmament and a selection of the best professional telescopes to explore planets and other celestial bodies.

The best apps for stargazing

(Photo: Google) The biggest mistake you make when you want to catch a shooting star with your eyes is not directing your gaze to the right portion of the sky. In order not to be mistaken, here are three apps to download immediately on Android or iPhone:

Sky Map - the most useful and precious resource for observing the night sky, a direct descendant of the popular Google Sky Map, now made open-source. It uses gps to locate the device and the gyroscope to understand where you are looking so as to provide an enriched map in real time to decipher stars, planets and other celestial bodies.

Star Tracker - Another massive app with 88 constellations and over 8000 stars mapped in the free version, the paid version (2.79 euros) eliminates advertising and adds information and details. It is for Android and iPhone.

Star Walk 2 - Another app that tracks the user and the direction in which the smartphone is pointing to offer a complete mapping of the sky. Also in this case it is available free or paid without advertising, for iOS and Android.

The best professional telescopes

(Photo: Omegon) For those wishing to observe stars more closely , planets and other distant wonders then here is a trio of professional telescopes that can be purchased online.

Omegon Ritchey-Chretien PRO RC 355/2845 Truss Ota - A professional and high quality instrument for those who want to observe the sky and delight in astrophotography. Features include a hyperbolic mirror, quartz mirror, 92 - 94% dielectric reflective treatment for astrophotography and bright and rich contrast observations. This model is priced at around 4900 euros, here on offer on Amazon.

Celestron NexStar 8SE - A computerized and portable model, fully automatic with Xlt Schmidt-Cassegrain optics with 200 mm of aperture and 2032 mm of focal length , gps connection and up to 40,000 celestial bodies stored. The price is around 2000 euros, here are the offers on Amazon.

Meade 20.3 cm lx200-acf - Another powerful home sky observation tool, with an opening of 20.3 cm and a focal length of 2000mm. The price is about 3900 euros, here the offers on Amazon.


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