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.
Northern hemisphere sky-gazers were in for a special treat on Thursday night with a rare shooting star outburst'.- 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!â€
- It is also known as “tears of St. Lawrence†in honour of a Christian saint tortured to death by the Romans in AD 258.
- The yearly show got its name because the stars appear to fly out of the constellation Perseus, visible in the Northern Hemisphere.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Each meteor is a piece of broken-off comet, which explodes as it hits Earth's atmosphere.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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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