The 2022 Perseid meteor shower peaked over the weekend and while the bright full moon may have taken away the best of the ‘shooting star’ display this year, that doesn’t mean skywatchers were left completely in the dark.
Astronomers around the world captured dazzling views of the Perseid meteor shower as it peaked overnight Friday-Saturday (August 12-13) and they 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.
“A Perseid fireball I saw last night from Oxfordshire,” said skywatcher Mary McIntyre from Oxfordhire in the UK. wrote (opens in a new tab) on Twitter, adding that she had captured the photos of the Perseids with a meteor camera. “The ionization track was awesome.”
Related: Perseid meteor shower generates first ‘shooting stars’ (video)
The Perseid meteor shower is usually one of the best meteor shows of the year, but its peak in 2022 came just a day after the Super Sturgeon Moon (August Full Moon) on August 11. Since dark skies are vital for observing meteors, even bright moonlight can cloud an astronomer’s outlook.
Photographer Wu Zhengjie for the VCG Photo Service and Getty Images still managed to capture stunning views of the Perseids from the landform of Eboliang Yardang in Haixi Mongolian-Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province in China. The images show bright Perseid meteors over a striking landscape.
Another photographer, Veysel Altun of Anadalou and Getty Images, managed to capture a series of Perseid meteors above a campsite in Samsun, Turkey.
Photographer Ercin Ertuk, also of Anadalou Agency and Getty Images, snapped a picture of a Perseid as it streaked across the sky above the trees in Ankara, Turkey.
Even more astronomers have managed to capture views of the Perseids with their own cameras or meteor cameras that constantly scan the sky to record fireballs. Here’s a look at some of our favorites spotted on Twitter.
This rock has come a very long way before giving me a neat little show last week. Luckily there were plenty of meteors while #perseid was building 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/n2iFVBi0p0August 12, 2022
#Night peak of the Perseids. It’s something, I guess. The full moon made this bright, and we were lucky to have clear skies under a low cutout anyway. The fireballs dodged most of my cameras, but I got them with the 8mm fisheye. Two -4 mag Perseids, one -3 mag. @ThePhotoHour pic.twitter.com/rbU45Npm5QAugust 13, 2022
Mag -4.8 #Perseid #fireball I saw last night from #Oxfordshire It was detected on our NW #meteorcamera The ionization trail was brilliant (I’ll share later!) Canon 1100D + 18-55mm lens 8sec ISO-800 f/3.5 #PerseidMeteorShower #Meteors #Perseids2022 pic.twitter.com/lv2cbkcDsMAugust 13, 2022
Another #Perseid #IonizationTrail this time at 23:54 BST on 11 Aug 2022. Taken from #Oxfordshire UK with Canon 1100D #PerseidMeteorShower #Meteors #Perseids2022 pic.twitter.com/m1ruM4kSTKAugust 12, 2022
Two #Perseid #Meteors on 2 different DSLRs, both just before 10.30pm BST 11 Aug 22. This is 2 of 6 #Perseids I filmed last night #Perseids2022 #PerseidMeteorShower pic.twitter.com/L1CB0IM31vAugust 12, 2022
A broader approach last night #perseid #meteors with the 2nd đź“· Good field of vision although less detailed. @VirtualAstro @OMSYSTEMCameras pic.twitter.com/4hiJh6iS6MAugust 12, 2022
The Perseid meteor shower occurs every year in mid-August when Earth passes through the dusty trail of Comet Swift-Tuttle. When these comet pieces crash into Earth’s atmosphere, they can spawn light trails as they cross the sky. They seem to radiate from the constellation Perseus, hence their name.
The next big meteor shower of 2022 will be the Orionid meteor shower in October. This shower will peak on October 20 and 21, but its period of activity extends from September 26 to November 22. It is caused by the remnants of Halley’s Comet when Earth crosses this path.
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 other view of the night sky and want to share it with Space.com for a story or image gallery, submit images, comments and location information at [email protected].
Email Tariq Malik at [email protected] (opens in a new tab) or follow him @tariqjmalik (opens in a new tab). Follow us @Spacedotcom (opens in a new tab), FAvsEbook (opens in a new tab) and instagram (opens in a new tab).
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