The Perseids are meteoric showers or shooting stars that can best be observed at this time of year. In Medieval Europe, the Perseids were also known as the Tears of Saint Lawrence. Mallorca celebrated Sant Llorenç last Sunday, August 10th.

The shooting stars are visible from mid-July each year, with the greatest activity between August 8th and 14th, peaking about August 12th, i. e. today. During the peak, the number of shooting stars seen can reach 60 or more per hour. That’s about one every minute. They can be seen all across the sky, but are primarily visible in the Northern hemisphere. What we see is meteoric dust and what we can see tonight is approximately one thousand year old dust. Makes oneself feel very young indeed.

The photo was chosen from my archive. It was taken in Felanitx, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: August 11th, 2004. The time was 23:03:05.