Tomorrow, the 12th of August, if you’re in Spain you’ll have the best view of the Perseids Meteor Shower. Make the most of this event and see the sky raining stars, find out more about the night here.
Tomorrow, the 12th August, is the day of the year that we can see the Perseids Meteor shower. If you’re lucky enough to be in Spain at the moment that’s the best place to witness the shower, especially in Granada. The Perseids are also known in Spain as the Tears of San Lorenzo, and will be most visible tomorrow between 19:30 and 22:00.
The organisation in Spain that regulates most space monitoring is the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC), the Institute of Astrophysics in Andalusia, it’s main offices being in Granada, a tourist destination and a place with a great view of tomorrow’s Meteor Shower!
The Meteor shower in Spain is one of the best that we can see and has been noted as being visible in August every year for about 2000 years, dating back to early records of the Perseids Meteor Shower in the Orient. It’s name comes from the centre point of the constellation from which it comes, being the constellation of Perseus.
The Meteor Shower as seen from Spain
The organisation of the International Astronomy Year has organised it’s 3rd Star festival. With the help of 40 groups of people and astronomers it’s organised places where people can go and watch the stars with great views! In Granada the Sierra Nevada normally opens some places for those of you in Granada to be able to go and see the Meteor Shower.
In the past the Sierra Nevada has organised a place called Borreguiles that’s been opened especially for the occasion, and for an entry fee of 10€ you get hot chocolate, a blanket and a great view of the shower! It’s high up in the mountains with a fantastic view of the event. Lots of people organise trips for themselves too to get high up and see the stars.
Across the rest of Spain there are other events organised to enjoy the night, such as beach activities and trips out to sea to see the stars from far out at sea!
Some people know the Meteor showers as “stars“, but they’re actually bits of Meteors and dust left over from comets that have circled the sun. They’re made up of ice and rocks, and when they get nearer to the sun they leave their characteristic tails behind them. They can be up to millions of kilometres long! When they enter into our atmosphere they break up and we see this shower of stars.
If you’re in Granada in the South of Spain and have the chance to visit the Sierra Nevada tomorrow to see the meteor shower it’s a great opportunity to see this, as Spain is one of the best places to view the stars. If you’re anywhere in Spain you can still see the event, don’t forget to look up at the stars!
