“For, behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth.”

 

Isaiah 65:17

 

Perseid Meteor Shower

      The Tears of St Laurence

The peak visibility of the meteor shower is between the 9th and the 14th August each year. Because the Feast Day of St Laurence is 10th August, the meteor shower has become closely associated with him, often being referred to as ‘The Tears of St Lawrence’.

St Laurence was martyred by being burned on a gridiron, and Mediterranean folk legend has it that the shooting stars are the sparks of the fire that was used. The legend continues that, on the night of 9th/10th August, the cooled embers appear on the ground under plants and are known as the ‘Coal of Saint Laurence’.

If you want to view the Perseid Meteor Shower, here are a few tips to make your viewing easier:

• the best time is between midnight and 5:30am
• try and view when the moon is below the horizon
• avoid any light pollution if possible
• head out the countryside (but keep safe)
• give your eyes 15 minutes to adjust to the dark
• don’t use binoculars or telescopes
• the meteors can appear in any part of the sky
• long exposure photographs can be fantastic!

Although it looks as if the comets are falling on the earth, the truth is that it is the earth colliding with them. As comets orbit the sun, they leave dusty trails behind. What we see as shooting stars is the result of earth colliding with the debris field left by the comet as it continues on its own orbit round the sun.

The fiery streaks that we see are the debris from the comet burning up in our atmosphere, but it can be a spectacular show!

Perseid meteor shower over a monument at Buzludzha,
a peak in the Balkan mountains in Bulgaria