August 10th is the infamous night of St. Lawrence. Legend has it that in 258 A.D., St. Lawrence was executed at the behest of Emperor Valerian on the very night of August 10th. The so-called night of shooting stars that are interpreted as the martyr’s tears during torture.
Wherever we are, whether in the city, at the seaside, or in the mountains, we all look up to the sky to enjoy the spectacle of shooting stars and admire those beautiful shimmering dots moving across the sky. As per tradition, it’s time to make a wish! Everyone who remembers the saint’s pain by looking up at the starry sky can hope that their wish will come true.
It’s all magnificent… Isn’t it? though surely you may have noticed that the stars were not very present this year.
It is said that by 2043 the sky may turn completely black. How come? It’s called light pollution, and it happens when the amount of natural light at night is altered due to artificial light inputs. Think about it, when was the last time you were really in the dark in the city? Probably never. Streetlights, billboards, illuminated signs, storefronts and screens now producing 24 hour lights are precisely the main cause of this phenomenon.
