The Perseid meteor shower, which occurs every August due to debris left behind from Comet Swift-Tuttle, peaked this weekend, offering stunning light displays in the night sky.
>> On AJC.com: Perseid meteor shower 2018: How and when to watch the sky’s best show of the year
According to Space.com, the shower peaked overnight Aug. 11-12 and again Aug. 12-13.
Social media lit up with images of the celestial phenomenon. Here are some of our favorites:
1. Cypress Hills, Saskatchewan
The Perseid meteor shower over the Saskatchewan Summer Star Party last night, Aug 10, in the Cypress Hills. This is a composite of 9 images with meteors layered onto a base image of the sky with the aurora which appeared briefly. @Saskatchewan @CHdestinationA pic.twitter.com/zKq6kbayXF
— Alan Dyer (@amazingskyguy) August 11, 2018
2. Firth of Lorn, Scotland
Heading west on the Gallanch Road along the Firth of Lorn, just outside #oban lots of #Perseid #meteorshower & Saturn shinning bright just above the horizon💫🦄🏴 @VirtualAstro #loveoban #myargyll #StormHour #MilkyWay #ScottishHighlands #darksky #Saturn #scotland pic.twitter.com/uiv7p5n021
— Nick (@EdgingtonNick) August 9, 2018
3. Loch Etive, Scotland
Standing at the edge of Loch Etive & I can see the Milky Way, Mars, Saturn, Pluto & a photobombing Perseid! What a perfect sky 👌🏻💫🦄🏴 @ProfBrianCox #stormhour #loveoban #myargyll #scotland #MilkyWay #mars #saturn #pluto #perseid #Perseids2018 pic.twitter.com/b41O6FzHYb
— Nick (@EdgingtonNick) August 11, 2018
4. Lac d'Ilay, France
Perseid #meteor passing through the Big Dipper last night at Lac d'Ilay in #jura #France 🌠 #Perseids2018 #PerseidMeteorShower #Perseids @StormHour @B_Ubiquitous @SpaceToday1 @montagnesdujura @ChasseursNuits @meteofrance @StormchaserUKEU @lachainemeteo @franceinfoplus pic.twitter.com/SekKM9cRAY
— Adrien Mauduit (@NightLights_AM) August 11, 2018
5. Jura Mountains, France
First bright #Perseid #meteor of the year over the lifts of @montsjura in the Jura mountains, #France last night! Single shot with @CanonUSAimaging 6D and @SigmaImagingUK 50mm f1.4 Art @meteofrance @StormHour @B_Ubiquitous @SpaceToday1 @_SpaceWeather_ @TamithaSkov @lachainemeteo pic.twitter.com/zIxh9DAv4N
— Adrien Mauduit (@NightLights_AM) August 10, 2018
6. Oxford Island, Northern Ireland
The annual Perseid meteor shower peaks this weekend, and with clear skies last night, I headed to Oxford Island, Lurgan. A few hours from dawn and activity started to pick up, with meteors from all directions.#Perseids #Perseids2018 @AstronomyIRL @NiSiFilters @earthskyscience pic.twitter.com/Gs73A1EJA7
— Johnny Baird (@JohnnyBaird7) August 11, 2018
7. Independence Pass, Colorado
Perseid meteor shower over Independence Pass last night. HD @ https://t.co/TI3ZgFPVTt pic.twitter.com/8aqWUJSTyZ
— Lansiar (@lansiar) August 11, 2018
8. Virginia
Stayed up looking for shooting stars. I only saw a few but I'm never disappointed by the Milky Way #perseid #perseidmeteorshower #astrophotography https://t.co/jlz3RDsUf3 pic.twitter.com/EbOiHyGIgy
— Wm Walker Co (@WmWalkerCo) August 11, 2018
9. Eccles Pass, Colorado
10. Groesbeck, Texas
11. Sunset Crater, Arizona
The early Perseid show was pretty good last night. There were quite a few bright ones with lingering trails that left people gasping. I was working to get one framed up with Mars and came away with a couple I liked. This was at Sunset Crater, AZ.#Perseids2018 pic.twitter.com/a5NX4WSX9j
— Jeremy Perez (@jperez1690) August 12, 2018
12. Addingham, England
Mono shot of the #MilkyWay with a meteor sneaking into the shot 📷🌟 #yorkshire #Astrophotography @VirtualAstro @skyatnightmag #Perseid #Nightsky @northyorkmoors @FUJIFILM_UK @3LeggedThing @EarthandClouds @BBCEarth #uk #stars pic.twitter.com/u8e3y1OMlR
— Stephen Dinsdale 📷 (@SPDPhotography) August 12, 2018
13. Stonehenge, England
Perseid meteor over Stonehenge UK along with Mars, Saturn and Jupiter
Posted by Paul Howell on Sunday, August 12, 2018
– Fiza Pirani of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contributed to this report.
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