Sky lovers are in luck, because August is full of astronomical events. The month arrives to fill the summer nights with magic, and after experiencing the grandeur of the sturgeon supermoon on August 1 -a phenomenon that we will have the chance to see again on the 30th-, it is the turn of the Perseids.
On these days when the moon is closer and larger from our planet, one of the favorite events for astronomy lovers will take place: the Perseid meteor shower or 'Tears of San Lorenzo', due to its coincidence with the patron saint festivities in honor of the patron saint of Huesca (August 10).
This 2023, although they can be observed from the end of July, their maximum point of activity is expected to happen on the night of August 12-13.
Now, although it is called a "star shower", it is not a "rain", and the Perseids are not "stars" either. In reality, the Perseids are meteorites, dust particles belonging to a comet -in this case the Swift-Tuttle comet- that disintegrates upon contact with our atmosphere.
The 'Tears of San Lorenzo' will have their maximum splendor in the early morning of August 13, between 01:00 and 02:45 - with its culmination between 03:00 and 04:45.
To see them, it is best to find a spot with little light pollution. If you're lucky and the weather cooperates with a clear sky, it's the ideal place to look up at the sky after midnight, when the constellation Perseus is at its best.
The phenomenon is expected to be broadcast live on YouTube Sky-Live starting at 9:50 p.m. UTC time, 11:50 p.m. local time (10:50 p.m. in the Canary Islands), on the night of August 12.
On August 30, as we have mentioned, it will be the turn of the next supermoon, which will appear in the sky with its maximum point at 9:36 p.m., according to The Old Farmer's Almanac. A supermoon also known as Supermoon Blue, not because of its color or blue glow in the night sky, but because it is the second moon in the same month.
According to NASA, this is because "most months there will only be one full moon, but occasionally, two fit in a month, hence the phrase 'once in a blue moon.'" In fact, this phenomenon only occurs once every three years, so the next time we can see something similar will be in 2026.
This year, in addition, will have four other supermoons.
