As every year at this time, stargazers can expect a spectacle in the night sky: The meteor swarm of the "Perseids" is on the approach.

This year, the stream of falling stars, which can be observed for several nights, is a particularly beautiful spectacle.

The meteorologists continue to predict mild evenings and a cloudless sky for large parts of Germany.

In addition, the moon sets in the evening.

So the light of our satellite does not disturb the view of the glowing cosmic dust particles.

If you look east on a clear sky after midnight, you can see dozens of shooting stars an hour.

The summer shooting stars got their name from the constellation Perseus, as they seem to come from this direction.

In fact, the meteors come from the immediate vicinity of the earth.

Every year between mid-July and the end of August, our planet crosses the orbit of comet "109P / Swift-Tuttle" on its orbit around the sun.

In doing so, she meets the cosmic dust trail that the tail star, which returns every 130 years, has left behind.

You don't need more than a comfortable deck chair

The particles, often only the size of a pinhead, penetrate the earth's atmosphere at an average speed of 200,000 kilometers per hour. At a height of 80 to 100 kilometers, they collide with the air molecules, which then begin to glow. The shooting stars are not the burning up dust particles themselves, but the glow of the ionized air molecules. The meteors generally do not reach the surface of the earth.

According to a written tradition, the Perseids were first observed in China about two millennia ago.

Then there were reports from Japan and Korea.

The first known observation of the swarm of meteorites in Europe dates back to the year 811. Special equipment is not required to observe the Perseids - a deck chair and a good all-round view, if possible without artificial lighting, are sufficient.

If you have the opportunity, go to an unlit area far from the city.

Binoculars or telescopes are more of a hindrance when tracking down the rapidly burning meteors.

If you want to photograph the sky spectacle, you should use a camera with a wide-angle lens, mount the device on a tripod and choose a long exposure.

Stars that clean themselves

Incidentally, the August meteors are popularly known as "Laurentius tears".

The name is reminiscent of St. Lawrence, who died a martyr's death on August 10, 258 under the reign of the Roman emperor Valerian.

Since then, so the legend goes, it is said to have rained fiery tears from heaven on that day.

In the past, the burned end of the candle wick was referred to as a snuff.

It had to be carefully cut off - cleaned - if the candle didn't turn soot.

In the saying “I don't care” the word survived - and also in the shooting stars.

According to old popular belief, they fall from the sky when the stars clean themselves.