ARCHIVED - The Perseids meteor shower will peak between the 10th and 12th August

There are lots of places throughout the Costa Cálida which are perfect for watching shooting stars!

Meteorologists say that the best show will be on the 12th August this year, although the moon is very full, so watching in the early hours of the evening before the moon rises is the best chance to see more shooting stars.

Between the 10th and 12th August the Perseids meteor shower reaches its peak, and heightened shooting star activity is visible from right across the Murcia Region at this time of year.

It's a strange year with so many of the normal "summer rituals" non-existant; normally this meteor shower co-incides with the Cante de las Minas Flamenco Festival, and the Ed. will return home at 3am in the morning after the finals and sit in a deckchair with a glass of wine and a bag of crisps star-watching for a couple of hours before collapsing into bed; there are always a few shooting stars to be enjoyed.

The shooting stars are not visible as a major shower, but fall at the rate of at least one a minute, although sometimes there can be more.

They tend to follow the same trajectory, so having spotted one, there are always more to follow from the same direction.

The Perseids are known as the Lágrimas de San Lorenzo, or tears of Saint Laurence, the legend behind the name linked to Saint Laurence, whose saint’s day is celebrated on the 10th August.

The story is set in Rome in 258 AD, when the Roman Emperor Valerian was persecuting the Christians within the city. Having already beheaded the Pope he ordered the Deacon, Laurence, to bring forward the treasures of his church and show them for what they were.

Laurence presented the poorest members of his congregation, saying they were Gods' greatest treasures.

Failing to see the poetry in this gesture, or the wit in his response, the judge ordered to try the case, promptly ordered him to be burnt alive on a griddle.

He was said to have died bravely, calling out to his tormentors, " turn me over , for I am cooked on this side, turn me over, and eat."

For which he was awarded the ultimate prize for humour in dire circumstances; sainthood, becoming the patron saint of comedians, and rather bizarrely, of butchers and roasters!

These falling stars are said to represent his tears of agony.

This meteor shower appears to come from the constellation of Perseus, the name coming from Greek Mythology, Perseids being the descendants of Perseus, so poetically, these little meteors are known as the descendants of Perseus.

The stream of debris, which appears to us as shooting stars, consists of particles ejected from the comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, travelling on a 130 year orbit for around 2000 years. These particles re-enter the earth’s atmosphere at 60 kilometres a second, at a height of 130 kilometres above the surface of the earth, and although it may look as though these are substantial meteorites heading towards the earth are in fact, tiny, varying in size from the a grain of sand, to a pea.

The comet passes by near to the sun every 133 years ( the last time it did so was in 1992 ) and has a large nucleus measuring 26 kilometres in diameter. The volumes of meteors left behind during the 1990’s were abundant, but the numbers are diminishing now.

However, spotting them at this time of year is still a fun activity, although this year the Astrophysics centre in the Canary Islands, who can always be relied upon for accurate information, have pointed out that the moon is nearly full and is therefore likely to "wash out" the special effects, so the activity will be less visible than in other years.

The centre says that the best time to watch for shooting stars will be in the early hours of the morning on 12th August, although there should be some signs of streaking stars on the evenings between the 10th and 13th August as well.

Regardless of the number of stars spotted, it's always nice to stretch out on a sun lounger in an area of low light contamination such as a quiet beach, open a pot of cold watermelon and a bottle of something cool and enjoy the warm night air!