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an extreme shooting star
Want something to watch that doesn’t involve electricity? Well, you’re in luck. The Perseid Meteor Shower, also called “The Tears of St. Lawrence” is visible in the night sky, annually, starting from mid-July. However, the peak period for viewing these fiery rock fragments this year is August 8th to August 14th with the peak of activity occurring after midnight on August 12th.
The “shooting stars” are bits of the debris trail following the Swift-Tuttle comet, which circles the sun every 130 years. Once a year, the earth comes close to the rock wake behind the comet and the chunks slam into our atmosphere at close to 37 miles per second. In fact, those watching for meteors won’t be disappointed- 50 to 60 meteors are expected every hour! But, while 60 visible meteors are expected an hour, they won’t streak by once a minute. Watch for them to come in a clump followed by a lull of several minutes before the next clump in what scientists aptly refer to as “the clumping effect”.
The viewing of this phenomeon is best in North America before dawn where the waning moon leaves the darkest sky. Find some clear country sky- away from city lights and pollution that could obstruct vision- and watch for both the bright, flaming meteors and the glowing trains they leave behind. To watch this brilliant display, no equipment is necessary. Instead, grab a blanket and a friend, lay back, and relax.
The Perseids Meteor Shower has been referred to as “The Tears of St. Lawrence” after Laurentius, a Christian deacon tortured, burned and eventually martyered by the Romans in 258 AD and whose feast day is August 10th. Burning to death in an outdoor oven, he is said to have cried out:
“I am already roasted on one side and, if thou wouldst have me well-cooked, it is time to turn me on the other.”
The sheer volume of shooting stars around this feast day (and coinciding, obviously, with the Perseids Meteor Shower) are said to be the “tears” of the roasted Laurentius.
