There's Still a Few More Days to See the Perseid Meteor Shower In All Its Glory

Lyndsey Matthews
Updated
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Photo credit: Instagram
Photo credit: Instagram

From Country Living

Last weekend, people in the northern hemisphere experienced the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, when the Earth moves through the trail of debris left behind by the comet Swift-Tuttle. Since the Perseids are one of the brightest and most active meteor showers of the year, astronomy enthusiasts flocked to the countryside to take in the spectacular show and captured some beautiful images along the way.

This weekend I got to watch the Perseid meteor shower in Yosemite with a large group of friends. We slept for roughly two hours before heading to Glacier Point to watch the meteors and the sun rise over Half Dome.

A post shared by Andy Fortson (@andyfortson) on Aug 14, 2017 at 8:45pm PDT

Perseid Meteor Shower in Joshua Tree National Park last night! #perseidsmeteorshower

A post shared by Sean Parker (@seanparkerphotography) on Aug 12, 2017 at 10:35am PDT

Perseid Meteor shower over Mussenden Temple . . . #discoverni #northernireland #perseidmeteorshower #mussendentemple #causewaycoast #causewaycoastalroute #loveireland #rawireland #tourismireland #astrophotography #astro_photography_ #longexposure #stars #longexposure_shots #night #nightsky #ig_astrophotography #lpm #landscape #landscape_captures #landscape_lovers #landscapephotography #landscapephotographymagazine #irishcentral

A post shared by Alan Kennedy Photography (@alandkennedy) on Aug 14, 2017 at 1:13am PDT

Another snap from lasts nights #PerseidMeteorShower That's the Milky Way next to the light pollution of Birmingham some 50miles away. The falling stars are amazing to see and if you get a chance to head out to a less light polluted area to see it share your pics. #takeawoolyhat #stargazing #yesanicecupofteawashadafterwards

A post shared by James Phelps (@jamesphelps_pictures) on Aug 13, 2017 at 4:09am PDT

Some photographers took their images to the next level by making composites of all the meteors they captured with their cameras on one night.

#PerseidMeteorShower #SpaceIsCool #SpaceTheFinalFrontier #SnowyRange #Wyoming #NightSky #Meteors

A post shared by Andy Volin (@andyliciousiam) on Aug 14, 2017 at 7:28pm PDT

Who saw some meteors this weekend? 🌠 We were lucky enough to have very clear skies over the Brecon Beacons, and I captured over 30 meteors on camera. This photo is a composite of several of the largest meteors that fell during a 35 minute period over Llwyn Onn reservoir. As always, if you enjoy please like and share, and you can also join me on other social networks Nikon D810 Venus Optics - Laowa 12mm lens f2.8 / ISO 1600 7 x 10 sec exposures #nightphotography #nightimages #night_shooterz #NIGHTSHOOTERS #ig_nightphotography #night_excl #nightsofwonder #ig_nightphotography #wanderlustwales #global_hotshotz #SIGGSTORIES #SIGGLIFE #WanderlustWales #TravelAwesome #nakedplanet #walesonline #igerswales #wales #FindYourEpic #WalesAdventure #DiscoverCymru #igerscymru #cymru #thisiswales #thewalescollective #hubs_united #ExquisiteEarth #ig_worldclub #photooftheday #meteor

A post shared by Travel & Landscape Photography (@mathewbrowne) on Aug 14, 2017 at 9:33am PDT

"Perseids by the lake" Silver Lake, California This year I decided to travel 3 hours to Silver Lake in the Northern California sierra to capture some of the famous Perseid meteor shower. I also decided to stay away from the radiant (the point from where all meteors seem to originate) and just focus on the composition of a nice nightscape and hoping some fireballs would make it in the frame. Knowing that the meteors would blaze in a direction similar to that of the Milky Way, my target was a no brainer, and the scenery was just perfect for that. What you see is the brightest shooting stars (meteors) I captured over a period of 2 hours. I have not integrated the fainter ones. This is not a single image but a composite of a few, with the meteors aligned right where they happened, relative to the sky. You'll notice all the bright meteors have a distinctive green-yellow-reddish color, which isn't rare. The colors are caused by light emitted by different metals when they burn as they enter out atmosphere and ultimately, by the air as well (red). Hope you like it! #deepskycolors #california #todayscalifornia #milkyway #sky #night #nightscape #nightscapes #stars #starrynight #nightphotography #photography #shootingstars #perseids #longexposure #discoverglobe #natgeospace #natgeo #thebest_capture #ig_shotz #universetoday #nightphotography #meteorshower #lake #silverlake #spaceattraction #astronomy #ourplanetdaily #space #spacedotcom

A post shared by RBA (@deepskycolors) on Aug 14, 2017 at 10:38am PDT

If you're feeling a bit of FOMO after looking at these photos, don't worry. While the peak of the meteor shower has already come and gone, the Perseids don't officially end until August 24. Plus, there's a new moon on August 21, which means that the sky will be much darker making it easier to see some truly spectacular meteors.

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