Early Perseid Meteor Shower Light's Up Night Sky - 12.08.2021, Sputnik International

The Perseid meteor shower forms when the Earth passes through a plume of dust particles released by Comet Swift-Tuttle. They burn up in the Earth's atmosphere at an altitude of 80 to 100 kilometres and form bright trails - the so-called "star rain".

According to the International Meteor Organisation (IMO), with a perfectly clear dark sky, 50 to 75 meteors per hour can be seen falling during Perseid's peak.

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This NASA handout photo shows a 30 second exposure, as a meteor streaks across the sky during the annual Perseid meteor shower on 11 August 2021, in Spruce Knob, West Virginia.

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Perseid comet near Deneb. Deneb is the brightest start in the lower middle of the picture and is the "tail" of the swan constellation Cygnus.

CC BY 2.0 / David Wipf / Perseid comet near Deneb

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Milky Way and Perseid meteor over Mauna Kea, Hawaii, the United States.

CC BY 2.0 / Jenly Chen / Milky Way and Perseid meteor over Mauna Kea

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This NASA handout photo released on 11 August 2021, shows a 30 second exposure, as a meteor streaks across the sky during the annual Perseid meteor shower on 10 August 2021, in Spruce Knob, West Virginia.

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A long exposure shot shows stars and meteors over the columns in the ancient city of Stobi, near Stip, North Macedonia, 12 August 2021.

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A meteor dashes above Tvrtkovac mountain during the Perseid meteor shower, seen from Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 8 August 2021.