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Photos: The spectacular Perseid meteor showers that most of us missed last night

A meteor flashes across the night sky on Aug. 12, Corfe Castle, UK.
A meteor flashes across the night sky on Aug. 12, Corfe Castle, UK.
Image: Dan Kitwood/Getty
By
Johnny Simon
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Meteor showers lit up night skies across the world early this morning, Aug. 12.

An annual celestial treat, the Perseid meteors are formed when the Earth passes through a debris trail of the Swift-Tuttle comet. Unfortunately for many, light pollution and cloud cover on Earth can make it hard to see anything whizzing through the stars. But for those who managed to leave cities behind for clearer skies, last night was one of the year’s best natural light shows.

More meteors may also be seen on Aug. 12 and 13.

Perseid Meteor Shower
The Perseid meteor shower above a roadside silhouette of a Spanish fighting bull, in Reduena, Spain on Aug. 12
Image: AP/Daniel Ochoa de Olza
Perseid Meteor Shower
A view from Mitzpe Ramon, southern Israel on Aug. 12, 2016.
Image: Reuters/Amir Cohen
Perseid Meteor Shower
A view from Mitzpe Ramon, southern Israel on Aug. 12, 2016.
Image: Reuters/Amir Cohen
Perseid Meteor Shower
A meteor streaks past stars in the night sky above medieval tombstones in Radmilje near Stolac, south of Sarajevo on Aug. 12.
Image: Reuters/Dado Ruvic
Spain Perseid Meteor Shower
A view of the Perseid meteor shower near the Guadarrama mountains, near Madrid, on Aug. 12
Image: AP Photo/Francisco Seco
Perseid Meteor Shower
The view from near Poznan Poland on Aug. 11.
Image: EPA/Lukasz Ogrodowczyc
Perseid Meteor Shower
The sky above Fuerteventura Island southwest Spain on Aug. 12.
Image: EPA/Carlos De Saa
A 30 second exposure of meteor streaks across the sky in Spruce Knob, West Virginia.
A 30 second exposure of meteor streaks across the sky in Spruce Knob, West Virginia on Aug. 12.
Image: Bill Ingalls/NASA/EPA