Get ready for one of the most dazzling celestial displays of the year—the Perseid meteor shower. Active from mid-July through late August, this year it reaches its spectacular peak on the night of August 12 and into the early hours of August 13. The Perseids light up the skies when Earth passes through a trail of icy and rocky debris left behind by Comet Swift–Tuttle, which last passed close to our planet in 1992. These meteors are called the Perseids because they appear to streak from the direction of the constellation Perseus.
Perseid meteor shower over Nevada
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Happy Easter from the ‘peeps’ at Bing
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A rest stop for the birds
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Dressed for winter fun
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International Archaeology Day
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Irohazaka Road in fall, Nikko, Tochigi, Japan
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Spring equinox
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Atop the Needle of Chamonix
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Christmas Bird Count
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Let’s talk fossils
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Wyoming celebrates its statehood
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Bohemian waxwings in Canada
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International Rock Day
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First day of summer
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An island hopper s paradise
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Next stop, Tofino
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Let the Highland games begin
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The Colosseum of Rome, Italy
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Sunlight sets Iceland s Eyjafjallajökull aglow
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Ruins of a royal temple
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Castellfollit de la Roca, Catalonia, Spain
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Heceta Head Light, Florence, Oregon
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That bill s just not going to fit
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Berlin Festival of Lights
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Ambassadors of the airwaves
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A personal collection becomes an institution
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World Rainforest Day
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A path to access
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Road to Hana, Maui, Hawaii
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Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
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Snow buntings take flight
Bing Wallpaper Gallery

