Like every year around these dates, the meteor shower of the Perseids, also known as tears of saint lorenzo due to its proximity to the maximum rainfall of meteors to August 10, the feast day of the Spanish martyr of the same name, lights up the night skies in late July and early August.
According to the Catholic tradition, this parallelism with the Christian tradition would seek to evoke the tears that the martyr shed when he was burned alive at the stake. Hence the poetic association between the shooting stars and the crying of the deacon.
The Perseids, despite the fact that they are not as spectacular or as showy as other meteor showers, stand out because they happen in summer, a season in which they are normally weather conditions are favorable to astronomical observation and, as a general rule, at a time when people have more free time to look at the stars. Hence the emotion for the arrival of the tears of San Lorenzo.
However, Quadrantids of December and the geminids of January would exceed their summer counterpart in number of meteors per hour. In parallel, the Leonids, although more irregular, can also be as spectacular as the Perseids.
Why are they produced?
The meteor showers, popularly known as Shooting Stars, They occur as a result of the entry of celestial bodies into the Earth’s atmosphere. In the specific case of the Perseids, this astronomical phenomenon has its origin in the fragments of the cometa 109P/Swift-Tuttle which, at a certain moment of their orbit, come into contact with the Earth’s atmosphere. An impact that, seen from the surface, generates the characteristic flashes of light from the tears of San Lorenzo.
Every year, between late July and mid-August, Earth passes through a cloud of dust thrown off by the comet as it approaches the Sun. Perseid meteoroids hit our atmosphere at 210,000 kilometers per hourproducing that characteristic light show.
That is why it is wrong to speak of meteor showerBecause the stars don’t fall. So the Perseids are nothing but dust and rock fragments disintegrate in the earth’s atmosphere.
Most of the meteoroids released from Swift-Tuttle are small, sand-like fragments. When they hit the Earth’s atmosphere, they increase their temperature to about 5,000 degrees Celsius in a fraction of a second, which causes them to disintegrate at a height of about 100 and 80 kilometers. That effect is what causes them to emit a flash of light. Larger particles, pea-sized or even larger, can produce much brighter contrails, known as bolides.
When does it happen?
This year, the peak of this phenomenon will take place the nights from 11 to 13 August, when between 80 and 200 shooting stars per hour can be observed. Before and after this date, always taking into account the time range forecast by astronomers, it will also be possible to observe the meteor shower, although with less intensity.
The show will be visible until august 24 and, according to NASA, the best time to see the Perseids in the Northern Hemisphere is during the hours before dawn, although they can also be seen at dusk, starting at 10 p.m.
The Perseids, like any other meteor shower, can be seen from anywhere on the globe. However, depending on where we are, we will have more or less chances of enjoying the phenomenon in all its splendor. Since the tears of San Lorenzo appear as small flashes of light, in order to distinguish them from the starry sky, it will be necessary to find a place sufficiently Dark (with little light pollution) and with enough field of view (from where we can have a wide view of the horizon). From there it will take patience, since there is no optimal time slot to observe the phenomenon.
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Although it is true that any place can be good to enjoy the Perseids, for those who want to experience the phenomenon in all its splendor, it is best to go directly to a astronomical Observatory. In these places, which already have optimal visibility of the sky, during the days of the meteor shower, talks, workshops and other activities are organized to observe the tears of San Lorenzo.
For nature lovers, the natural reserves They are also positioned as a good place to enjoy the Perseids. By standing out as sites away from the big metropolises, the absence of light pollution is assured. In addition, in many cases these natural landscapes already have spectacular views. So the tears of San Lorenzo would only manage to crown the territory.