Map illustrating the annual Perseid meteor shower. The night sky will sparkle with "falling stars" on Tuesday and Wednesday as Earth passes through a trail of dusty debris from the Swift-Tuttle Comet, say scientists (AFP/Graphic).
- Climax of shower visible tonight, August 12, 2009 (WQ)
- National Geographic The Perseid meteor shower, like all meteor showers, happens when debris from a passing comet gets left behind in that object's orbit around the sun. When Earth passes through the debris, tiny particles get incinerated in our atmosphere. Related: "Perseid Meteor Shower to Yield 80 Meteors an Hour?")
In this Aug. 12, 1997 file photo, a bright Perseid Meteor cuts across Orion's Belt during the peak of the annual Perseid Meteor shower seen from Joshua Tree National Park, California. The annual Perseid meteor shower is promising to put on a dazzling sky show. Astronomers say up to 100 meteors per hour are expected to streak across the sky during the shower's peak. In North America the best time to watch is before dawn Wednesday Aug. 12, 2009 (AP/file/Wally Pacholka).
Perseid meteors streak across the sky in 2008. The night sky will sparkle with "falling stars" on Tuesday and Wednesday as Earth passes through a trail of dusty debris from the Swift-Tuttle Comet, say scientists (AFP/Getty Images/file/Ethan Miller).
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- Video: Perseid meteors streak across Carolina Skies (WRAL Raleigh, N.C.)
This November 2000 NASA file image shows a meteor streaking across the sky during the Leonid meteor shower. Many of the primitive bodies wandering the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter are former comets, tossed out of orbit by a brutal ballet between the giant outer planets, say a team of astrophysicists (AFP/NASA-HO/File).
