For centuries, access to the wonders of the universe was limited to those who owned expensive optical instruments or lived far from the light pollution of cities. Today, a new generation of web platforms is breaking down these barriers, democratizing space and transforming any browser into a powerful virtual telescope.
Until a few years ago, simulating the starry sky required the installation of heavy and complex software. Today, thanks to increasingly advanced web technologies, the entire celestial dome can load in a few seconds on a normal internet page, even from a smartphone.
These platforms are not simple static maps: they are true dynamic simulators that calculate the exact position of millions of celestial bodies based on time (past, present, or future) and the geographical coordinates of the observer. Virtual planetariums will obviously never replace the thrill of a night spent in the mountains stargazing, but they have a superpower: they spark curiosity. And they remind us that, above the illuminated rooftops of our homes, the universe continues to flow, infinite. On the occasion of this conference, along with Nicola (author, among other things, of the excellent virtual planetarium webplanetarium.org), we will explore how it only takes a common browser and a click to transform our room into an astronomical observatory.
We invite you to join us this evening bringing along your smartphone, tablet, or pc to learn how to use the online planetarium and discover with us the wonders (albeit virtual) of the sky.
The observational part, after the conference, will feature the company of a beautiful Moon that is about to become full, but which, with the aid of appropriate neutral filters to shield it, will still give us wonderful views. In the absence of the possibility to observe deep sky objects, we will serve the most beautiful double star of the summer sky, Albireo in Cygnus with colors of a rich yellow and blue, and Rasalgethi in Hercules, as well as the three bright stars of the Summer Triangle (Vega of Lyra, Deneb of Cygnus, and Altair of Aquila). And then globular and open clusters, galaxies, and much more...
