Perseid Meteor Shower: When And How To Observe This Spectacular Astronomical Event In Spain

One of the most anticipated moments of the year for lovers of astronomy has arrived.

The annual Perseid meteor shower can be observed from approximately July 17 until around August 24. This spectacular display is visible from the entire northern hemisphere during the summer with August 12/13 expected to be the date with the maximum activity this year.

As explained by astronomy experts from the National Geographic Institute (IGN), this phenomenon is typically known in Spain as the ‘Tears of San Lorenzo’.

This is due to its proximity to the day of the Spanish martyr’s festival with the same name. ‘The speeds of these meteors can exceed 50 kilometres per second and their activity rate can reach 200 meteors per hour’, they pointed out.

When is the best time to see them?

The period between August 12 and 13 should also provide a high activity for these meteors. When weather conditions are favourable, it is one of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year.

Will this year’s meteor shower be a good one?

This year will be ‘excellent’ for observing the Perseids, since the day of maximum activity will take place three days before the new moon, which occurs on August 16. ‘The thin waning moon will provide excellent viewing conditions throughout the night’, said the experts.

Why does this meteor shower occur?

‘Comets, as they travel on their orbits around the Sun, are throwing a trail of gases into space. They contain dust and debris (rocky materials) that remain in an orbit very similar to that of the parent comet’, explained IGN.

At the beginning of August, the Earth crosses the orbit of comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, which has an orbital period of 133 years and last passed near the Sun in 1992. The Perseids have their radiant in the constellation of Perseus.