2023-08-14 12:26:00
Summer reading special: National Geographic Magazine for only €5/month + GIFT to choose
Enjoy our special editions at a single price for being a subscriber.
August is a unique month to enjoy astronomical events, for three reasons: it is a vacation period, so we can lengthen our nights observing the firmament; being summer, the sky is much clearer than in other times, and also, it is the month in which more phenomena are concentrated.
Video: A photographic walk through the Milky Way
So far, we have attended the appointment with the first supermoon of the month -the Sturgeon-, with the well-known Summer Triangle, with the Delta Aquarids and with the Alpha Capricornids. And recently the most symbolic meteor shower of the year arrived: the perseids -also known as Tears of Saint Lawrence-, which could be seen in their maximum splendor on the night of August 12-13.
Meteors occur when the Earth crosses its orbital path with a comet or meteoroid which, upon impact with the atmosphere, disintegrates. Thus, the evaporation of these atoms generates an amount of energy that can be seen from Earth in the form of flashes that create trails of light. And while these phenomena occur throughout the year, there are some Key dates that it is worth booking in the calendar to delight ourselves with the spectacle that the universe offers us.
Shutterstock
Perseidas vistas en el cielo en Kuala Kubu Bharu, Selangor (Malasia).
What did the Perseids of 2023 look like?
The peak of the 2023 Perseids occurred on the night from August 12 to 13and could be seen from anywhere in the world.
It should be noted that on this occasion, unlike what happened with the Delta Aquarids and the Alpha Capricorns, visibility was excellent because the moon was in the phase of last quarter -with only 10% of its plate illuminated-. With this, in Viajes National Geographic made a list with plans in Spain to see the meteor showerfrom which you can take good ideas for the next astronomical event.
Cordon Press
Image of a shooting star captured in California.
When will the next meteor shower be?
Meteor showers occur annually and therefore it is possible to predict when more contrails will be seen in the sky. During the year there are 10 meteor showers registered, and three of them are in summer: the Aquarids, the Capricorns and the Perseids. However, we will have to wait to witness the next one, the Draconidswhich will run from October 6 to 10 and will peak on October 9.
In this calendar of National Astronomical Observatory are registered meteor showers that occur throughout the year, the dates on which they can be viewed, and their activity rate. Some of them, like the Alpha Capricornids, are not included in the table because they are slightly visible from Earth.
NAMEPICOVISIBILITYAVERAGE FALL RHYTHM (meteors/hour)Quadrantids4 Jan28 Dec – Jan 12120Lirids23 Apr16 Apr – 25 Apr18Eta Aquarids6 May19 Apr – 28 May50Delta Aquarids30 Jul12 Jul – 23 Aug25Perseids13 Aug17 Jul – Aug 24100DraconidsOctober 6Oct 6 – Oct 10> 20Orionids October 22Oct 2 – Nov 715LeonidsNovember 18Nov 6 – Nov 3015GeminidsDecember 14Dec 4 – 17 dec120Ursids23 december17 dec – 26 dec10
#Perseids #looked