Tuesday 12 August 2008

Perseid meteor shower in Sofia

Really sorry I didn't see this one myself.
clipped from www.thesun.co.uk


STARGAZERS all over the world have been enjoying meteor showers from the comet
Swift-Tuttle.


This stunning picture was taken in the early hours of this morning near the
town of Sofia in Bulgaria.


It is a meteor shower which comes every year, and is visible from mid-July
with the greatest activity between August 8 and 14.


The peak of the Perseids meteor shower over the eastern sky is expected
tonight and in the early hours of tomorrow morning.


The meteors are called Perseids because the point they appear to come from
lies in the constellation Perseus.


The shower has been observed for about 2000 years, with the first known
information on these meteors coming from the Far East. In early medieval
Europe, the Perseids came to be known as the "tears of St Lawrence."


During the peak, the rate of meteors reaches 60 or more per hour. They can be
seen all across the sky, but because of the path of Swift-Tuttle's orbit,
Perseids are primarily visible in the northern hemisphere.

Stunning ... meteor shower in the skies
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