Perseids: The most impressive meteor shower will peak tonight

Christian tradition says that on August 10, 250, San Lorenzo was burned alive. Such was the ordeal suffered by the Roman saint that – when coinciding with history – it is believed that his tears turned into a grainy meteor shower, a phenomenon called epididymis.

Perseids occur every year between July and September. This event is one of the most popular and most awaited by night sky watchers because you can see it during its peak activity Many bright, fast meteors dotted across the night sky.

A meteor shower has already started this year, and it happened on July 14th; However, the good news is that It will run until September 1According to the American Meteorological Society.

In 2023, the Perseids are expected to peak in mid-August, more specifically 12 or 13 August.

Unlike last year, its estimate in 2023 will be gross because The full moon will not hinder him.

We are Dust particles from Comet Swift-Tuttlewhich is just over 16 miles in diameter. By separating from the comet’s structure, some of them can reach the size of a grain of rice, a marble, or a tennis ball.

When these objects suddenly collide with the Earth’s atmosphere, they disintegrate and emit this luminous trail with the appearance of a shooting star.

he Swift Tuttle It completes an orbit around the sun every 133 years, and the last time it recorded closeness was in 1992. As it approaches our star, it heats up and releases jets of gas and small rocks, which end up colliding every summer with the sun. Earth’s atmosphere.

Comet remnants enter the atmosphere Earth at a speed of 36 miles per second. This speed makes friction with the atmosphere so strong that molecules reach it 41,000 degrees Fahrenheit In just a split second, until they disintegrate and “paint” this ephemeral path.

Velocity along with its elemental composition or any mineral makes that, when burning, are observed in different colors in the meteorite. Some contain high amounts of sodium, magnesium, iron, or silicon. The brightest shooting stars too The tail is brighter and more durable.

Unlike other astronomical phenomena such as eclipses and the Perseids geographically indistinguishable, That is, anyone around the world can enjoy this spectacle, just look at the night sky.

However, in the northern hemisphere the radiant position or constellation in the sky will be preferred.

Experts suggest that radiation will be present in the constellation Perseus. It will be hours before dawn when it is highest in the sky, which will increase the number of meteors that can be seen, but in reality they will be visible in 2023 in variable amounts all the time. Saturday night 12 and Sunday 13 August.

A telescope is not necessary to observe it, as the viewing range of the sky is shortened.