copious Perseid meteor shower Put on a great show and we’ve collected some of the best photos from around the world to prove it.
with the moon Only 10% lit during peak time – the night of August 12th and before dawn on August 13th – the conditions for viewing the Perseids were much better than last year’s sadly seen meteors outperforms him full moon.
Perseids are causing it Land It passes through the debris — bits of ice and rock — behind it Comet Swift-Tuttle which last passed close to Earth in 1992. The Perseids peak when Earth passes through the densest and dustiest region on August 11-12. Years without moonlight see higher rates of meteors per hour, and in outburst years (like 2016) the rate can range from 150-200 meteors per hour!
Don’t worry if you don’t catch any during the peak, the Perseid meteor shower remains active until around August 24, although fewer meteors per hour will be visible than during the shower’s peak.
Related: Meteor shower guide: When is the next meteor shower?
Amateur astronomer Fotis Mavroudakis captured this beautiful image below on August 13, in the Dramatic Mountains, a city in northern Greece. Nestos River flows in the foreground.
“I devoted several hours to capturing the celestial scene,” Mavrodakis told Space-Profound.org in an email.
“Clear night conditions allowed me to create an image that not only highlights the meteor’s brilliance, but also shows the majesty of the universe. The vibrant meteor trail and the serene expanse of the night sky combine to create a sense of wonder and magic.”
Pictured below is the Perseid meteor streaking through the sky along the Gate of the Sphinx in the ancient city of Hattusa, in the Boğazkale district of Corum, Turkey on August 13, 2023.
Perseid meteor lights up the sky on August 13, 2023 in Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China.
Here, the Perseid meteor streaks across the sky in Leon, Spain.
Sarpincik Lighthouse wasn’t the only spectacle that lit up the sky in the Karaburun district of Izmir, Turkey on August 13.
Phil Kirschner has managed to capture an impressive Perseid meteor streaking across the sky just below Jupiter.
“We counted 19 Perseids in one hour and wanted another one,” Kirchner told Space.com in an email. “I pointed my Samsung s22 at Jupiter and in less than 5 seconds a 30 second shot captured Perseid.”
Below, a long Perseid train winds over the historic Phrygian Valley near Ihsan, in the Afyonkarahisar region, Turkey.
Amateur astrophotographer Richard Raga (Instagram_astrorich) caught some impressive Perseid meteors and fireballs when hunting meteors at Fremont Peak Observatory, California, US
“Watching the meteors and fireballs streaming through the night was just as fun as watching the first,” Raja told Space.com in an email.
“Knowing I could catch a few with my camera definitely made my 80-mile trip out of town worth it.”
Pictured below, over the lush green countryside of Ratnapura, Sri Lanka, a bright Perseid meteor streaks across the starry Milky Way.
The striking green color of the bright Perseid meteor is evident in this image taken Aug. 13 over the abandoned historic Caravanserai, near Garmsar in Semnan Province 77 miles (123 kilometers) southeast of Tehran, Iran.
Many mustangs have been spotted over the Lake Observatory on Mount Hamilton in California, United States.
A bright Perseid meteor lights up the sky in Golog Tibet Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China.
Sky watchers gather in the Karacabey district of Bursa, Turkey on August 12 to watch the heavy Perseid meteor shower.
A bright Perseid meteor shines beside the bright lights of White Lake, North Carolina, United States
The stunning image below shows the Perseid meteor shower in full swing over the Miyun National Observatory station in Beijing, China.
The Perseid meteorite lit up the sky over the Mekhtish Ramon region in the Negev Desert, southern Israel.
A long Perseid train glides over the historic Phrygian Valley in the Ihsan district of Afyonkarahisar, Turkey.
If all these Perseid photos have inspired you to up your photography game, check out our site The best cameras for astrophotography and ours How to photograph a meteor shower Guide for some help and advice.
Let us know if you caught a nice picture of the Perseid meteor shower (or any other target in the night sky)! You can send photos and comments to spacephotos@space.com.
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