Perseid Meteors Put On a Show!
The Perseid meteor shower of 2018 put on a spectacular show for skywatchers around the world. The annual meteor shower peaked Aug. 11-13, just after the new moon, which made for excellent meteor-spotting conditions. Click through this gallery to see some of the best Perseid photos submitted by Space.com readers!
Perseid Fireball in Macedonia
At Galičica National Park near Ohrid, Macedonia, astrophotographer Stojan Stojanovski captured a Perseid fireball as it lit up the starry sky above a serene mountain landscape. "Near the big puddle where animals drink water, we started shooting around 11 p.m. local time," Stojanovski told Space.com. "It was a good night with very good number of meteors per hour."
Meteor Meets Mars in Las Vegas
A Perseid meteor, Mars and the Milky Way light up the night sky in this photo taken near Las Vegas by Tyler Leavitt. "The orange glow to the right of the frame is the Vegas light pollution mixed with haze and smoke from the California wildfires," Leavitt told Space.com in an email.
Meteor, Mars and the Milky Way from Macedonia
In this photo from Galičica National Park in Macedonia, Stojanovski captured a fireball meteor near Mars and the Milky Way.
Fireball Over Colorado
A fireball zips across the Milky Way in this photo taken by Sergio Garcia Rill at Sprague Lake in Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park.
Las Vegas, Nevada
Mars glows near a bright-green Perseid meteor over Las Vegas, Nevada in this photo by Tyler Leavitt.
Perseids Over Greece
Fotis Mavroudakis captured this photo of Perseid meteors over Falakro Oros, a mountain in northern Greece. The image combines 40 fireballs captured over a period of about 5 hours.
Meteor at Mount Galičica
In another view from Galičica mountain near Ohrid, Macedonia, astrophotographer Simjanoski Bojan captured a Perseid prancing through the Milky Way.
Fireball Over Colorado
A Perseid fireball streaks across the star-speckled sky over Sprague Lake in Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park in this image by astrophotographer Sergio Garcia Rill.
Italian Perseids from the Virtual Telescope Project
Several Perseid meteors dash across the sky above Italy's Castel Santa Maria in this photo by astrophysicist Gianluca Masi of the Virtual Telescope Project taken during the peak on Aug. 12-13, 2018.
Perseid Pierces Through Smoky Skies
Smoke from wildfires in California obscured the view of the Perseid meteor shower for much of the western U.S., but astrophotographer Maxim Senin managed to capture a few meteors from the Los Angeles Astronomic Society's dark-sky site in Los Padres National Forest.
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