10th August is the Feast of Saint Lorenzo – the night of the shooting stars is the night when dreams come true in Italian folklore
It is around this time that the Perseids meteor showers light up the night sky, allowing Italians to claim a star for their wishes.
This tradition dates back to the mid-200s, when it was said that San Lorenzo was martyred by being slowly roasted on a grill.
Lorenzo, while burning on the grill, apparently told his executioners “Turn me over. I am done on this side.”
His method of execution made Lorenzo the patron Saint of cooks.
This year, very few shooting stars were visible in the night sky because there was another object far, far brighter which put the brief flashes of a meteor shower in to the shade, so to speak.
It was the night of the ‘Superest’ Supermoon.
August’s full moon, a so-called “supermoon,” rises when the natural satellite is at perigee — the closest point to Earth in its orbit.
It is the second of three super moons this summer, according to NASA
While both July and September also play host to perigee full moons, this month’s supermoon is the bigger and better than the others this year, according to one NASA scientist.
“This is the super moon, the ‘superest’ super moon,” according to NASA scientist Noah Petro.
“The two full moons around this one are also close, but not the closest. By the strict definition of a supermoon or a perigee moon this one this weekend is the closest full moon of the year. The other ones are spectacular but not quite as close as this one.”
The moon orbits about 238,855 miles (384,400 kilometers) from Earth on average. Today’s supermoon brings the moon about 31,000 miles (50,000 km) closer to Earth than it is during its farthest point from the planet. The moon will only be “10s of kilometers” closer to Earth than other full moons this year, according to Petro.