Get ready for one of the most dazzling celestial displays of the year—the Perseid meteor shower. Active from mid-July through late August, it reaches its spectacular peak on the night of August 12 into the early hours of August 13 this year. The Perseids light up the skies when Earth passes through a trail of icy and rocky debris left behind by Comet Swift–Tuttle, which last passed close to our planet in 1992. These meteors are called the Perseids because they appear to streak from the direction of the constellation Perseus.
Perseid meteor shower over Nevada, United States
Today in History
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Burrowing owl chicks
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Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Islands, Australia
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Eurasian lynx
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Ring of fire solar eclipse
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World Meteorological Day
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Happy New Year!
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Mothering Sunday
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International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem
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Huddled and hunting
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Kings Mountain, Chugach Mountains, Alaska, United States
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Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Utah, United States
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Autumn in Central Park, New York, United States
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The Monastery of Roussanou, Greece
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Rapa Valley in Sarek National Park, Sweden
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Spreadsheet Day
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Underwater underground
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Blood moon
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Andermatt village in the Alps, Switzerland
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National Hummingbird Day
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International Lighthouse Weekend
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Great wildebeest migration at Mara River, Kenya
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Eurasian red squirrel, Switzerland
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Art installation of umbrellas, Borough Market, London, England
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King of the ocean
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World Bee Day
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Poinsettia or Christmas flower
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Martimoaapa Mire Reserve, Finland
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International Museum Day
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More of a moustache than a beard?
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The butterfly effect
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