Spectacular Perseid meteor shower
The annual Perseid meteor shower is twice as spectacular this year.
You might think of the Perseids as arriving at Earth every August, but really we're the ones visiting their home turf each year. Our planet ventures through trails of debris left over from comet Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the sun once every 133 years.
A meteor streaks past stars in the night sky above medieval tombstones in Radmilje near Stolac, south of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 12, 2016.
Perseid meteor shower
A meteor streaks past stars above medieval tombstones in Radmilje near Stolac, south of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 12, 2016.
Perseid meteors move through space at a sizzling 132,000 miles per hour, a speed at which even little bits of dust can create a nice bright streak of light when they collide with our atmosphere.
Perseid meteor shower
A meteor streak can be seen in the early morning hours during the Perseid meteor shower in Ramon Crater near the town of Mitzpe Ramon, southern Israel, August 12, 2016.
Perseid meteor shower
First lights of the sun rise at dawn during the annual Perseid meteor shower at the Guadarrama mountains, near Madrid, in the early hours of Friday, Aug. 12, 2016.
Perseid meteor shower
A Perseid meteor streaks across the sky above trees on August 12, 2016 in the central Israeli village of Luzit during the Perseids meteor shower which occurs every year when the Earth passes through the cloud of debris left by Comet Swift-Tuttle.
Perseid meteor shower
A Perseid meteor streaks across the sky during the annual Perseid meteor shower at the forest of the crosses in Marganell, Spain, Friday, Aug. 12, 2016.
Perseid meteor shower
A meteor streaks above medieval tombstones in Radmilje near Stolac, south of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 12, 2016.
Perseid meteor shower
A meteor can be seen passing by above medieval tombstones in Radmilje near Stolac, south of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 12, 2016.
Perseid meteor shower
A meteor streaks across the sky in the early morning during the Perseid meteor shower in Ramon Crater near the town of Mitzpe Ramon, southern Israel, August 12, 2016.
Perseid meteor shower
The "Milky Way" is seen across the sky in the early morning hours during the Perseid meteor shower in Ramon Crater near the town of Mitzpe Ramon, southern Israel, August 12, 2016.
The red cloud was caused by a person walking in front of the camera during the long exposure, while a car with its tail lights on drove behind the photographer.
A photographer prepares to take pictures of the annual Geminid meteor shower on the Elva Hill, near Cuneo, northern Italy on December 12, 2015.