Tonight through August 13 the Perseid meteor shower promises to deliver peak sightings. According to science – “In 1835, Adolphe Quetelet identified the shower as emanating from the constellation Perseus. In 1866, after the perihelion passage of Swift-Tuttle in 1862, the Italian astronomer Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli discovered the link between meteor showers and comets.“. Seems over zealous astronomers neglected to ask the church were Perseid originated.
Martyred Christian deacon Saint Lawrence was put to death August 10, 258 AD by Roman emperor Valerian. According to legend Lawrence was grilled to death over hot coals. Before succumbing to his death deacon Lawrence is said to have told his torturers he was “done” on one side and to turn him over. ( reason National Geographic claims made Lawrence the patron saint of chefs ) History documents Catholic observance of Saint Lawrence martyrdom on August 10 since the fourth century.
Somewhere in the annuals of early Catholic history Perseids became the fiery tears of Saint Lawrence. Clearly the only explanation for a annual event coinciding with grilling the patron saint of chefs.
A Perseid meteor crosses the night sky over a statue of Jesus Christ in a Belarusian village on August 13, 2016. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2018/08/news-perseid-meteor-lawrence-christianity/
Go to https://www.space.com/32868-perseid-meteor-shower-guide.html for tips on watching Perseid.
I love the story … had made plans but think I may have offended the Great Sta-placer somehow, all we have down here right now is wall-to-wall clouds. ‘Tis ever thus …
Likewise. So frustrating! Have my telescope out, rare day off tomorrow and it’s raining after weeks of clear skies and oppressive heat.
Odds on it will be cloudy in the UK tonight