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SPRING MOUNTAINS NATIONAL RECREATION AREA, NV – AUGUST 13: A Perseid meteor streaks across the sky above desert pine trees on August 13, 2015 in the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, Nevada. The annual display, known as the Perseid shower because the meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Perseus in the northeastern sky, is a result of Earth’s orbit passing through debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
A falling star crosses the night sky behind the lighthouse in Pilsum, northwestern Germany, during the peak in activity of the annual Perseids meteor shower on August 13, 2015. The Perseids meteor shower occurs every year when the Earth passes through the cloud of debris left by Comet Swift-Tuttle. AFP PHOTO / DPA / MATTHIAS BALK +++ GERMANY OUT (Photo credit should read MATTHIAS BALK/AFP/Getty Images)
A falling star crosses the night sky over Halle / Saale, eastern Germany, during the peak in activity of the annual Perseids meteor shower on August 13, 2015. The Perseids meteor shower occurs every year when the Earth passes through the cloud of debris left by Comet Swift-Tuttle. AFP PHOTO / DPA / HENDRIK SCHMIDT +++ GERMANY OUT (Photo credit should read HENDRIK SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images)
BURSA, TURKEY – AUGUST 12: Perseid meteors streak across the sky over Inegol district of Bursa, Turkey on August 12, 2015. The display, known as the Perseid shower because the meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Perseus in the northeastern sky, is a result of Earth’s orbit passing through debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle. (Photo by Saban Kilicci/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Skywatchers in the Northern Hemisphere have been stunned by the annual Perseids meteor shower.
NASA says the Perseids have been observed for at least 2,000 years and are associated with the comet Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the sun once every 133 years.
Every August, the Earth passes through a cloud of the comet’s orbital debris and the debris field, consisting of bits of ice and dust from the comet, burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere to create one of the best meteor showers of the year.
The Perseids streak across the sky from many directions, with up to 100 meteors visible per hour. The last time the Perseids peak coincided with a new moon was in 2007, making this one of the best viewings in years.
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