Fears of ‘apocalypse’ as skies crammed with 150,000 taking pictures stars in meteor bathe

Can you catch a falling star? Absolutely not. But if you must have a go, now’s as good a time as any, with the Perseid meteor shower – which peaks on August 12-13 – filling the sky with up to 100 an hour.

This year’s event could be even more spectacular than usual, with a new moon coinciding with the climax that should make it easier to see. And don’t worry… it’s probably not an omen of impending doom.

In fact, a meteor shower is what happens when thousands of space rocks enter the atmosphere, falling from the tail of a passing comet. That’s not what our ancestors thought though.

Here are the freaky facts on the phenomena…

Shower of power

Lighting up the skies every July and August, the Perseid meteor shower is one of the biggest. It’s caused by the Swift-Tuttle comet passing above – but for the Romans, that was far too simple an explanation.

They said the shooting stars were the “seed” of the fertility god Priapus, who was blessing crops to boost the upcoming harvest. The Christians, who took over the empire in 380AD, were understandably shocked.

They called the meteors the “tears of Saint Lawrence,” a Roman executed for his Christian faith on August 10, 258AD. The “coal of Saint Lawrence,” lumps of embers from the gridiron where he was roasted, are said to appear under plants the night before the anniversary of his death.

Fire storm

Taking place every November, the Leonid meteor shower is usually nothing to write home about. You might see 10 to 15 shooting stars an hour.

Then once in a while, it goes absolutely insane. That’s what happened on November 12 to 13 1833, known as the “night the stars fell,” when meteors sparked panic across North America.

As 150,000 rocks an hour tumbled from space, many people were convinced they were watching the start of the apocalypse. Witness Eliza Lyman, from Missouri, wrote: “They came down almost as thick as snowflakes and could be seen until the daylight hid them from sight.”

Then on November 17, 1966, the Leonids gave us the greatest meteor storm in recorded history. When it peaked at 5am, an incredible 40 rocks per second streamed across the US sky for 15 minutes.

Great balls of fire

In October or November, you might spot a big, bright point of light moving slowly across the sky. That would be part of the Taurid meteor shower, which comes from the comet Encke.

It produces spectacular shooting stars nicknamed “Halloween fireballs” – and the science behind them is scarier than your average ghost story.

According to the experts, these fireballs indicate a swarm of larger objects moving within the Taurid meteor stream. And that means there’s a risk of them causing what’s known as an “airburst”.

One example of an airburst – or mid-air explosion – is the Tunguska Event of June 30, 1908. Around 1,000 times more powerful than an atom bomb, it flattened 80million trees across 830 square miles of rural Siberia.

Sign of the times

Throughout history, comets have been seen as harbingers of impending war, famine and death. They gave us the word “disaster,” from the Greek meaning “bad star.”

In Norse mythology, the flying space rocks were said to be chunks of bone from the skull of the giant Ymir. After the battle of Ragnarok, he was killed by Odin and his brothers, who used his body to make the world.

To the Aztecs, comets – or “smoking stars” – were powerful bad omens. A bright comet seen by the last Aztec emperor, Montezuma II, was said to foretell his downfall to the Spanish conquerors.

And to the ancient Chinese, comets were seen as a disastrous imbalance in yin and yang that could bring about a war. To make sure they were suitably warned, Chinese emperors employed staff specifically to watch for them.

Star struck

The most famous comet in history, Halley’s Comet is the only one consistently visible from Earth with the naked eye. It shows up roughly every 75 years – and disaster is said to follow in its wake.

The fireball is famously woven into the Bayeaux Tapestry, showing the Norman invasion of England in 1066. It was said to have foretold King Harold’s defeat at the hands of William the Conqueror.

It was blamed for the Black Death that killed millions across Europe, after showing up in 1347. And its 1835 appearance was said to have caused a massive fire that consumed 500 buildings in New York.

Then in 1910, boffins found the comet’s tail contained cyanogen, a poisonous gas related to cyanide. Mass panic ensued, with fears its appearance that January could put an end to life on Earth.

The comet is next due to appear on July 28, 2061.