Get ready for one of the most dazzling celestial displays of the year—the Perseid meteor shower. Active from mid-July through late August, this year it reaches its spectacular peak on the night of August 12 and into the early hours of August 13. 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
Today in History
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An island oasis in the Indian Ocean
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Seville, Spain
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A tower of remembrance
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National Audubon Society s Christmas Bird Count
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Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting
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In the Red Sea for World Dolphin Day
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Green sea turtle on World Oceans Day
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Bridge to infinity
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Computer science on the page
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Landscape Architecture Month
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Corn maze in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania
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Mid-Autumn Festival
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The Crown of the Continent
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Listening to the sea
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Not your average sandcastle
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Folegandros Island, Cyclades, Greece
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Bukhansan National Park, South Korea
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Wander the ancient medina
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Who s there? The largest owl in the world
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A rest stop for the birds
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Happy Father s Day
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Waimea Canyon and Waipoo Falls, Kauai, Hawaii
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At the foot of Dubrovnik s Gibraltar
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West Cornwall Covered Bridge, Connecticut
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Happy Fourth of July!
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Mackerel forming a bait ball to avoid predators
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Martin Luther King Jr. Day
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Pont Alexandre III, Paris, France
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Big Bend National Park in Texas turns 81
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Celebrating Madagascar on its Independence Day
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