Natural fireworks, courtesy of the Perseid meteor shower

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This constellation map shows the constellation Perseus from where the Perseid meteor shower can be seen arising in the sky. This year as a bonus Mars is visible as a bright red dot in the east after midnight. Credits: ESA - G. Barentsen
This constellation map shows the constellation Perseus, from where the Perseid meteor shower can be seen arising in the sky. This year, as a bonus, Mars is visible as a bright red dot in the east, after midnight. Credits: ESA - G. Barentsen

As the Perseid meteor shower becomes visible in all its glory on 13 August, natural fireworks will fill the sky. Showers of meteors, or ‘shooting stars’, appear as bright streaks of light in the sky. The display runs through the night.


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