When we think about Sardina we often imagine the sea or inland places. Yet there is also another treasure that deserves to be discovered, on the clearest nights, by raising your eyes upwards!
The island is undoubtedly one of the best Italian regions for observing the skies.
Observations and astrophotography
Whether you are a lover of astronomical observations or astrophotography, in Sardinia you will often find ideal conditions for your passion.
This region is not closed by high mountain ranges; this allows the winds to rapidly disperse the haze and air pollution, however reduced compared to other more densely inhabited and industrialized Italian regions. You will often find, especially in the cold months, particularly clear days.
To observe the stars it is very important to find dark places, with low light pollution; from this point of view Sardinia is one of the best areas in all of Europe.
Here there are few cities and it is often enough to move to the countryside to find few lights. There are also particularly isolated places where light pollution is practically zero; we mention for example the Teulada area, the inland of Gallura, the Ogliastra and the places near Bosa.
The largest European radio telescope is located near San Basilio, in Southern Sardinia, and there are also various astronomical observatories on the island.
Below, in a Sassari night photo, the strongest lights are those of the city and we can see only a few stars.
To see the stars better, you can go to a less illuminated park. But in any case nothing comparable with what one observes away from the cities! Below is a photo taken in the Anglona countryside.
Pics of the winter sky
We show you two photos, also taken in Anglona.
In the first we observe Sirius, below: it is not only the brightest star in the image,but also among all those visible from Earth!
The top reddish star is Betelgeuse; below this, slightly to the right, the three aligned stars of the Orion Belt can be recognized.
The Milky Way is undoubtedly the protagonist in the Sardinian skies.
In Sardinia, our galaxy can also be observed with the naked eye; that is no longer possible, for example, in many areas of northern Italy, due to light pollution.
You will find the best conditions to admire the Milky Way in the first months of the year, a few hours before sunrise.
