Surely you have ever heard about the meteor shower known as chased or tears of San Lorenzo. It is a meteor shower that appears in the constellation of Perseus, hence its name, and that has its maximum relevance between August 9 and 13. During these days you can see a multitude of luminous lines in the night sky, which corresponds to the so-called meteor showers. It is one of the best known meteor showers in the world and has its greatest intensity since they can produce up to 80 meteors per hour or more. It must be taken into account that the geographical location of the atmospheric conditions of the moment are necessary aspects to enjoy them to the fullest.
For this reason, we are going to dedicate this article to telling you all the characteristics, origin and how to see the Perseids.
Key features
It's known that various meteor showers occur throughout the year in different parts of the sky. However, the Perseids have been the most significant due to their high hourly meteor shower rate. Furthermore, they occur during summer nights in the Northern Hemisphere, making them much more enjoyable. Meteor showers that occur during the winter are more complicated. First, the cold nighttime weather makes it difficult to stay comfortable while watching the meteor shower. Second, adverse atmospheric conditions. During the winter, rain, fog, or heavy cloud cover are more likely, making it difficult to see the sky.
The Perseids were known to the Chinese around AD 36 At some point in the Middle Ages, Catholics named these showers the tears of Saint Lawrence. Naturally, there was some debate about the origin of these stars, since they were sporadic. The general consensus was that they were simply atmospheric phenomena. However, by the beginning of the 19th century, XIX century some astronomers correctly identified them as a celestial phenomenon. For more information about meteor showers, you can visit our page about rain of stars.
Meteor showers are usually named by the constellation from which they appear to originate. This can sometimes cause confusion due to perspective. Some meteor showers are often parallel to the paths of the meteors. This makes them appear to converge at a point called the radiant to an observer on the ground. You can also find more information about meteor showers. meteor showers like the Orionids which are another wonder of the sky.
Origin of the Perseids
We've already mentioned that their origins were quite difficult to understand. However, during the early 19th century, some scientists, such as Alexander von Humboldt and Adolphe Quetelet, believed that meteor showers were atmospheric phenomena. The Leonids are meteor showers that occur regularly in November and are particularly intense compared to other meteor showers. This sparked a real debate about the nature of shooting stars.
After various studies, American astronomers Denison Olmsted, Edward Herrick, and John Locke independently concluded that meteor showers were caused by the fragments of matter that the Earth encountered as it traveled its annual orbit around the SunA few years later, other astronomers discovered the link between the orbits of comets and meteor showers. In this way, it was proven that the orbit of Comet Tempel-Tuttle coincided exactly with the appearance of the Leonids. This is how the origin of meteor showers became known. It was learned that these meteor showers were nothing more than the encounter of our planet with debris left behind by comets whose orbits took them close to the sun. For more information about comets and their relationship to meteor showers, visit our page on Comets.
Comets and Meteor Showers
The idea of a star known as the Perseids originates from comets and also asteroids. Asteroids are objects that also belong to the solar system, just as the planets do. They are fragments attracted by the sun's gravity, and the remains are scattered as dust throughout their orbits. Dust is made up of different particles that have different sizes. There are some fragments that have a very small size below the micron, although there are also those that have an appreciable size.
When a meteor collides with Earth's atmosphere at high speed, ionization of the molecules in the atmosphere occurs. This is where a trail of light known as a shooting star is produced. If we analyze the Perseids, we see that they reach a speed of 61 kilometers per second when they encounter our planet. It should be noted that, for a shooting star to be more visible, it must have a higher speed. Thus, the greater the speed, the greater the luminosity of a meteor. You can learn more about how shooting stars occur in our article on Shooting Star.
The comet that gave rise to the Perseids is 109P / Swift-Tuttle, discovered in 1862 and with an approximate diameter of 26 km. The time it takes for the comet to travel its elliptical orbit around the sun is known to be about 133 years. It was last seen in 1992 and scientific calculations say that it will pass close to our planet around the year 4479. The reason for concern about this proximity is that its diameter is more than double that of the asteroid that is thought to have caused the extinction. of the dinosaurs.
How to see the Perseids
We know that this meteor shower begins its activity in mid-July and ends in mid-August each year. Peak activity coincides with the feast of Saint Lawrence, around August 10th. The radiant is the area where the shooting star can most often be seen. In this case, the point on the celestial sphere where the shooting star originates is in the northern constellation of Perseus, so it's essential to know how to view the Perseids.
In order to observe this meteor shower, no instrument is needed. The best observations can be made with the naked eye, although you need to choose a location that meets certain conditions. The main thing is be away from any light pollution, trees and buildings that make it difficult to see the night sky.
Make sure the moon is lower on the horizon, otherwise we'll barely be able to see the shooting stars. The best time to do this is after midnight. If you'd like to learn more about astronomical events, you can consult our list of astronomical events.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about the Perseids, their characteristics and how to see them.