The Perseids meteor shower peaks today
Born in 225 in Osca, Hispania (modern-day Spain), Lawrence of Rome was one of the ancient capital's seven deacons.
According to legend, when the prefect demanded that he hand over the church's treasure, he instead distributed the wealth amongst the poor.
For this act of defiance, Lawrence was burned to death on a grill in the year 258. Fittingly, he is the patron saint of the poor -- and of cooks.
Though the Feast of St. Lawrence is celebrated by Catholics around the world on August 10, the peak of the Perseids -- a meteor shower also known as the "Tears of St. Lawrence" -- is due today.
Star-gazers will be treated to quite a show: up to a hundred pieces of cosmic debris streaking across the Northeast sky at the rate of about two per minute, disintegrating as they enter Earth's atmosphere in a fiery display that has been witnesses by humans for the last 2,000 years.
GET INVOLVED
- Find out when and where to look for the Perseids
- Calculate the number of meteors visible in your observation area using NASA's Fluxtimator
- Download this month's free night sky map and calendar from Skymaps.com
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