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Tears of St Lawrence': Perseids meteor shower lights up night sky

World
13 Aug 2016 10:24 AM IST

The Perseids happen when Earth hits a wide belt of debris left behind by comet Tuttle-Swift on its 133-year orbit around the Sun.

  • Tears of St Lawrence: Perseids meteor shower lights up night sky
    Northern hemisphere sky-gazers were in for a special treat on Thursday night with a rare shooting star outburst'.
  • Tears of St Lawrence: Perseids meteor shower lights up night sky
    According to legend, Laurentius was martyred on an iron grill over a fire, during which ordeal he is said to have quipped to his persecutors: “Turn me over. I'm done on this side!”
  • Tears of St Lawrence: Perseids meteor shower lights up night sky
    It is also known as “tears of St. Lawrence” in honour of a Christian saint tortured to death by the Romans in AD 258.
  • Tears of St Lawrence: Perseids meteor shower lights up night sky
    The yearly show got its name because the stars appear to fly out of the constellation Perseus, visible in the Northern Hemisphere.
  • Tears of St Lawrence: Perseids meteor shower lights up night sky
    The next mega-outburst of the Perseids is predicted to occur on August 12, 2028, and will feature the dust trail produced by the comet during its 1479 perihelion passage.
  • Tears of St Lawrence: Perseids meteor shower lights up night sky
    This year, Earth is on a collision course with three of the most heavily populated of these trails -- created in the years 1862, 1737 and 1479.
  • Tears of St Lawrence: Perseids meteor shower lights up night sky
    Within the broad belt of debris, there are also denser dust ribbons created when the comet passes closest to the Sun in its orbit -- a juncture called perihelion.
  • Tears of St Lawrence: Perseids meteor shower lights up night sky
    Each meteor is a piece of broken-off comet, which explodes as it hits Earth's atmosphere.
  • Tears of St Lawrence: Perseids meteor shower lights up night sky
    The Perseids happen when Earth hits a wide belt of debris left behind by the comet Tuttle-Swift on its elongated, 133-year orbit around the Sun.
  • Tears of St Lawrence: Perseids meteor shower lights up night sky
    Normally, the Perseids regale Earthlings with a show of about 100-120 shooting stars per hour. The event builds up over about two weeks, peaking in mid-August.
  • Tears of St Lawrence: Perseids meteor shower lights up night sky
    For about an hour around 2300 GMT, there was more than double the usual fireball activity associated with the annual Perseid meteor shower.
Northern hemisphere sky-gazers were in for a special treat on Thursday night with a rare shooting star ‘outburst’.
The Perseids happen when Earth hits a wide belt of debris left behind by comet Tuttle-Swift on its 133-year orbit around the Sun.
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