Best images from this year's Perseid meteor shower

August 14, 2018, 2:59 PM

The Perseid meteor shower dazzled spectators… again.

PHOTO: A meteor streaks through the sky past planet Mars and Milky Way during the Perseid meteor shower above the village of Gemersky Jablonec in Slovakia, Aug. 13, 2018.
A meteor streaks through the sky past planet Mars and Milky Way during the Perseid meteor shower above the village of Gemersky Jablonec in Slovakia, Aug. 13, 2018.
Peter Komka/EPA via REX/Shutterstock

The annual event takes place each year in early August.

PHOTO: People lie on the ground to watch the Perseid meteor shower as an airplane flies over the Al Qudra desert, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Aug. 12, 2018.
People lie on the ground to watch the Perseid meteor shower as an airplane flies over the Al Qudra desert, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Aug. 12, 2018.
Ali Haider//EPA via REX/Shutterstock

As the Earth passes through the debris left behind by the Swift-Tuttle comet's tail, an array of streaking lights is displayed across the night sky.

PHOTO: A meteor streaks through the sky during the Perseid meteor shower above the village of Hajnacka in Slovakia, Aug. 13, 2018.
A meteor streaks through the sky during the Perseid meteor shower above the village of Hajnacka in Slovakia, Aug. 13, 2018.
Peter Komka/EPA via REX/Shutterstock

Named for the constellation Perseus, because of where the meteors are viewed, the shower can be seen when looking toward the constellation in the northeastern portion of the sky between midnight and dawn.

PHOTO: A girl lies in hammock as she looks at the milky way during the peak of Perseid meteor shower in Kozjak, Macedonia, Aug. 13, 2018.
A girl lies in hammock as she looks at the milky way during the peak of Perseid meteor shower in Kozjak, Macedonia, Aug. 13, 2018.
Ognen Teofilovski/Reuters
PHOTO: Cars drive through Ramon Crater during the Perseid meteor shower near the town of Mitzpe Ramon, southern Israel, Aug. 12, 2018.
Cars drive through Ramon Crater during the Perseid meteor shower near the town of Mitzpe Ramon, southern Israel, Aug. 12, 2018.
Amir Cohen/Reuters