Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Perseid meteor shower hits Earth


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).
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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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).