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
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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A view fit for a queen
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Celebrating the International Day of Forests
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Bear watching in the Finnish forest
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Pretty, pretty…butterfly?
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Kiteboarding and windsurfing in Croatia
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Independence Day of the Argentine Republic
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Edinburgh Festival Fringe
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An ice cap-puccino
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Gwalior Fort, Madhya Pradesh, India
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Uredd Rest Area, Norway
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International Jazz Day
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National Rivers Month
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The Battle of the Bulge 75 years later
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Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz, California
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In the Himalayas for International Mountain Day
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Summer solstice
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Terraced fields of green
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Redwood National and State Parks, California
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Cheetah mother and cub
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World Meteorological Day
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Put your helmet on, we’re going for a hike
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World Art Day
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Brown bears, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska
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St. Joseph North Pier Inner and Outer Lights, Michigan
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Dreaming of the Tyrrhenian Sea
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Dragon dance performed in Chenzhou, Hunan Province, China
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Point Reyes National Seashore in California
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The Kelpies statues in Falkirk, Scotland
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Little Pigeon River, Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee
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Constitution Day and Citizenship Day
Bing Wallpaper Gallery

