Pedro Puente Hoyos/EFE via ZUMA Press
The annual Perseid Meteor Shower peaked last night, and star enthusiasts who caught a glimpse of the spectacle got an extra dose of awe and wonder. Most years, Earth skirts the fringe of the Swift-Tuttle comet’s debris trail, but thanks to an extra gravitational tug from Jupiter that comes into play just a few times each century, we ventured closer to the middle of the trail where debris streams are more prolific. Thousands of meteors were observed slashing through the darkness. In prime conditions, up to 200 shooting stars an hour could be spotted without binoculars or a telescope.
If you slept through the dazzling display, or live in an area rife with light pollution, check out highlights of the brilliant shower below. (And don’t worry—you can still catch the tail end of the shower through August 26.)
This is what the Canadian Sky looked like last night #landoflivingskies @Saskatchewan @weathernetwork #Perseids pic.twitter.com/lk8DaS1Gm5
— Greg Johnson (@TornadoGreg) August 12, 2016
Here are a few frames of the #Perseid #meteorshower seen from Spruce Knob, West Virginia. https://t.co/XFj9bV2cdA pic.twitter.com/xifefTnreP
— NASA HQ PHOTO (@nasahqphoto) August 12, 2016
#eustorm 3/30 @StephxoxPereira reports another beautiful #Perseid Meteor in Dordogne, France https://t.co/TxmmvIQsYv pic.twitter.com/Lnsol0cGz1
— #eustorm (@EUStormMap) August 12, 2016
We’ve added a few additional frames of #Perseid #meteorshower from Spruce Knob, WV. https://t.co/XFj9bVjN58 pic.twitter.com/qCxUKxpmEe
— NASA HQ PHOTO (@nasahqphoto) August 12, 2016
These photos of the Perseid meteor shower will motive you to watch tonight. #perseid https://t.co/1PvuajFvan pic.twitter.com/cr2Nn4OZZV
— The Weather Network (@weathernetwork) August 12, 2016
30 seconds of wishes. #Perseid over the Gorge last night at 2am. My dogs hated me. pic.twitter.com/FWftuKhCWE
— Chris (@ChrisTeso) August 12, 2016
My favorite Perseid of the night from Sunset Crater National Monument—12 August 2016 2:40AM (0940UT).#perseid #per… pic.twitter.com/wVcvsh8egF
— Jeremy Perez (@jperez1690) August 12, 2016
2016 #Perseids #meteor composite over #Tahoe. @CAStateParks @DanManWx @renotahoe @SPACEdotcom @VisitCA @EverydayWow pic.twitter.com/IjY9xMGbh3
— Tony Fuentes (@Nightscapes_us) August 12, 2016
4:41 AM Perseid #meteor today in Polvadera#nmwx #astrophotography #PerseidMeteorShower #NewMexicoTRUE #milkyway pic.twitter.com/6uWmUZWiXI
— Colleen Gino (@inlightful) August 12, 2016
“Whatever you do tonight do NOT miss the #perseids meteor shower” say Mr & Mrs Triffid. pic.twitter.com/PVe2QkWHxI
— Benjamin Ranyard (@higgledygarden) August 12, 2016
