The 2022 Perseid meteor shower peaked this weekend, and while the bright full moon may have blotted out the best of this year’s “shooting stars,” that doesn’t mean the sky watchers have been left completely in the dark.
Stargazers around the world captured some dazzling views of the Perseid meteor shower as it peaked overnight on Friday and Saturday (August 12-13) and shared the photos to prove it Some observers took to Twitter to share their meteor sightings, while other astrophotographers took some truly stunning photos for Getty Images.
“The Perseid fireball I saw last night from Oxfordshire,” skywatcher Mary McIntyre of Oxfordshire in the UK (opens a new tab) wrote on Twitter, adding that she captured the pictures of the Perseids with a meteorite camera. “The ionization track was amazing.”
Related: Perseid meteor shower spawns early ‘shooting stars’ (video)
The Perseid meteor shower is usually one of the best meteor viewings of the year, but its peak in 2022 came just one day after the Sturgeon supermoon (August’s full moon) on August 11 Because dark skies are vital for observing meteors, even bright ones. moonlight can obscure a stargazer’s perspective.
Photographer Wu Zhengjie for VCG Photo Service and Getty Images still managed to capture stunning views of the Perseids from Eboliang Yardang Relief in Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, China’s Qinghai Province. The images show bright Perseid meteors over a stunning landscape.
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Another view of the Perseid meteor shower over the Eboliang Yardang relief on August 12, 2022 in Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. (Image credit: Wu Zhengjie/VCG via Getty Images)
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The Perseid meteor shower lights up the night sky over the Eboliang Yardang landform on August 12, 2022 in Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. (Image credit: Wu Zhengjie/VCG via Getty Images)Image 1 of 2
Another photographer, Veysel Altun of Anadalou Agency and Getty Images, managed to capture a streak of Perseids meteors over a campsite in Samsun, Turkey.
A Perseid meteor streaks across the night sky over the Atakum district of Samsun, Turkey on August 13, 2022. (Image credit: Veysel Altun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Photographer Ercin Ertuk, also of Anadalou Agency and Getty Images, captured a photo of a Perseid as it streaked across the sky above the trees in Ankara, Turkey.
View of the Perseid meteor shower over Ankara, Turkey on August 13, 2022. (Image credit: Ercin Erturk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Even more stargazers managed to capture views of the Perseids with their own cameras or with meteor cameras that constantly scan the sky to record fireballs. Here’s a look at some of our favorites found on Twitter.
This pebble came a long way before giving me a little show last week. Luckily there were plenty of meteors during the #Perseides buildup, because during tonight’s peak it will be hard to see all but the brightest with the full moon in the sky @BBCStargazing pic.twitter.com/n2iFVBi0p012 d August 2022
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Maximum night of the #Perseides. It’s a thing, I guess. The full Moon made it bright, and we were lucky to have clear skies under a low cut in any case. The fireballs avoided most of my cameras, but I got them with the 8mm fisheye. Two -4 mag, one -3 mag Perseids. @ThePhotoHour pic.twitter.com/rbU45Npm5Q August 13, 2022
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Mag -4.8 #Perseid #fireball I saw last night from #Oxfordshire Spotted on our NW #meteorcamera Ionization trail was amazing (will share below!) Canon 1100D + 18- lens 55mm 8sec ISO-800 f/3.5 #PerseidMeteorShower #Meteors #Perseids2022 pic.twitter.com/lv2cbkcDsMAAugust 13, 2022
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Another #Perseid #IonizationTrail this time at 23:54 BST on 11 August 2022. Taken from #Oxfordshire UK with Canon 1100D #PerseidMeteorShower #Meteors #Perseids2022 pic.twitter.com/m1ruM4kSTKA 12 August 2022
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Two #Perseid #Meteors on 2 different DSLRs, both just before 22:30 BST on 11 Aug 22. This is 2 of the 6 #Perseids I had on camera last night #Perseids2022 #PerseidMeteorShower pic.twitter.com/L1CB0IM31vAugust 12, 2022
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A wider focus last night #perseid #meteors with the second one 📷Good field of view although less details. 2 cameras planned tonight, wide and not so 👌EM-1 mk3, 8mm pro F1.8, ISO320, 15s x 5h in composite mode live @VirtualAstro @OMSYSTEMcameras pic.twitter.com/4hiJh6iS6MA August 12, 2022
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The Perseid meteor shower occurs each year in mid-August when Earth passes through the dusty trail of Comet Swift-Tuttle. When these comet fragments crash into Earth’s atmosphere, they can create bright streaks like the streak across the sky. They seem to radiate from the constellation Perseus, hence their name.
The next major meteor shower in 2022 will be the Orionids meteor shower in October. This rain will reach its maximum on October 20 and 21, but its period of activity is from September 26 to November 22. It is caused by the debris of Halley’s Comet when the Earth passes this way.
Check out our guide to the best meteor showers of the year to prepare for your next stargazing experience.
Editor’s Note: If you take an amazing photo of a Perseid meteor or any other sighting of the night sky and want to share it with Space.com for a story or image gallery, please send images, comments, and location information to spacephotos@space .com.
Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com (opens in a new tab) or follow him @tariqjmalik (opens in a new tab). Follow us @Spacedotcom (opens in a new tab), Facebook (opens in a new tab) and Instagram (opens in a new tab).