Pics of the Perseid meteor shower

[Dreaming Of Pandora]

If you never got to see this awe-inspiring sight a few days ago here are some photos of them from all over the world.

Meteor showers happen when the Earth passes through the tail of a comet's debris. Tiny particles measured in the micrometre hit the Earth's atmosphere at 165'000 mph and cause large streaks of light across the sky as it burns up.

All meteors in the Persied meteor shower radiated out in all directions from the constellation Perseus, as you can see in the first photo below, hence the naming. The shower is debris from the comet Swift-Tuffle.