Shooting stars are seen on Earth as our planet enters a dust cloud ejected by a comet, in this case, Swift-Tuttle. The dust burns up as it enters the atmosphere creating natural fireworks in the night sky.


 
This picture was taken during the Perseid meteor shower on 12 August 1997.

Shooting stars are seen on Earth as our planet enters a dust cloud left behind by a comet, in this case, Swift-Tuttle. The dust burns up as it enters the atmosphere creating natural fireworks in the night sky.


 
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.


 
This map shows all the locations where the observations will be taking place, and the respective institutes involved at the site.

It is a Google Earth image made up of images from Terrametrics, Europa Technologies, NASA, CNES/Spot Image.



Release date: 13 August 2007