The waning phase in which the Luna will allow this year an optimal observation of the Perseids, the meteor shower that happens every summer, popularly known as ‘Tears of Saint Lawrence’ for coinciding its peak with the days before and after that feast of the saints.
It won’t be the moon, but the clouds which make it difficult in some places to contemplate the rain of starsSince, after several days of completely clear skies in most of the country, storms and partially cloudy skies are going to be a constant in many communities during the next few days.
What are the Perseids?
They are neither stars nor tears, but residual dust and rocks from a comet (el Swift-Tuttle) that when colliding with the earth’s atmosphere they become ‘fireballs’ and at a speed of up to 50 kilometers per second they draw those luminous traces that unleash one of the most characteristic astronomical spectacles of summer nights in the northern hemisphere.
When can you see the Perseids?
He National Astronomical Observatory (OAN) has recalled that the Perseids begin to be seen in the sky in mid-July and last until the end of August, but the maximum activity is recorded every year between August 11 and 13, when that shower can reach up to 200 meteors per hour.
During the last nights the ‘tears’ have already crossed the sky and have generated especially bright fireballs that have already been recorded by the detectors that the Southeastern European Fireball and Meteor Network has in the La Hita Astronomical Complex (Toledo) and in nine other observatories located in different places in Andalusia.
The best time to see the ‘tears of San Lorenzo’
But the true spectacle generated by the ‘Tears of San Lorenzo’ will take place during the nights from 11 to 13 (between Tuesday and Thursday of this week) and the best time to observe it will be the first hours of the night, when the sky will be darkest, before the moon risesAlthough the satellite will not be a major obstacle this year because it is in a waning phase.
Why are the Perseids formed?
They are formed because all comets, in their orbits around the Sun, leave a trail of gases, cosmic dust and rocks that remain in an orbit very similar to that described by the parent comet, and when the Earth encounters one of those rings, some of those fragments are trapped by the gravitational field and enter the atmosphere at high speed forming that ‘meteor shower’ , according to the OAN.
Every summer the Earth crosses the orbit of Comet Swift-Tuttle, which is filled with those small particles, like grains of sand and even smaller, that had been released by the comet in its previous steps.
How many kilometers are they?
The Observatory data reveal that the brightness and speed of these meteors cause a spectacular effect and the ‘illusion’ that they are very close, although in reality the Perseids (so named because they “seem” to come from the constellation of Perseus) they happen about 100 kilometers.
The importance and popularity of this ‘meteor shower’ draws the attention of the main astronomical societies and institutions every year, which organize activities to contemplate the show and live broadcasts, such as those programmed by the La Hita Astronomical Complex or the Canary Islands Institute of Astrophysics with cameras of the highest quality.
What does it take to see Perseids?
To see the ‘Perseids’ you don’t need telescopes or optical instruments –just look at the sky from dark places and as far as possible from sources of light pollution-, but yes to observe how those meteors impact the Moon.
Lacking an atmosphere, these meteors collide directly with the lunar surface at speeds that can exceed 200,000 kilometers per hour, an impact that causes their sudden destruction and the formation of new craters; a collision invisible to the human eye, but not to telescopes.
A spectacle in the sky and an inexhaustible source of information for scientists, who every year focus on those tears and those collisions – some debris even hit the earth’s ground.
How to participate in the ‘star count’?
The Instituto Astrofísico de Canarias and the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid have joined the citizen science project this year ‘Star counters’ funded by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology under the Ministry of Science and Innovation and have joined the educational activities for anyone to participate in the star count.
Where to see the ‘meteor shower’ on August 12 live?
The IAC, in collaboration with the astronomical dissemination channel sky-live-tv, will broadcast live the ‘Meteor Shower’ on August 12 (the night from Wednesday to Thursday) from the observatories of Teide in Tenerife and Roque de los Muchachos on the island of La Palma.
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