2023-08-02 16:51:36
August seems like a month of good omens, or at least a good month, since it brought with it a series of astronomical phenomena that paralyze the world. For example, on the night of this first day, the Sturgeon Moon occurred, a phenomenon in which, due to its proximity to Earth, the satellite appears much larger and much brighter than usual.
However, this is not the only time that it will appear: on the 31st of the same month, this eventuality will be repeated, which, in 1979, the astrologer Richard Nolle began to call a supermoon.
Meanwhile, this is how Internet users from all over the world recorded last night:
On the other hand, this year the long-awaited Perseid meteor shower peaks on the night of August 12-13, providing skygazers with a potentially impressive treat.
Meteors are best seen from the Northern Hemisphere, and in ideal cloudless conditions, spotters could see up to 50 per hour. In addition, the moon will not interfere, according to a statement from the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS).
Meteors are the result of small particles entering the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed, usually around 60 km per second. The pieces of debris heat up due to friction with the air and are generally destroyed in less than a second at altitudes above 80 km. The superheated air around the meteor glows briefly and is visible from the ground as a streak of light known as a “shooting star.”
Throughout the year, up to six random ‘sporadic’ meteors are visible every hour. During a shower, Earth passes through a cloud of debris left behind by comets, and many more meteors are seen entering the atmosphere. The Perseids are associated with comet 109/P Swift-Tuttle, which last passed near Earth in 1992. The meteor shower is named for the point in the sky where it appears to originate, the so-called “radiant,” located at the constellation of Perseus.
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