This year's Perseid meteor shower was slightly outshined by the brilliant supermoon, but stargazers who tuned in overnight Tuesday into Wednesday were still treated to a streaking light show.
The annual meteor shower peaked from 3 to 4 a.m. early Wednesday
in all time zones, NASA officials told NPR.
"This year, light from a nearly full moon will make the meteors harder to see, but NASA says you can still expect around 30 to 40 per hour," NPR reported.
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Skywatchers in North America had the best chance of
seeing the meteor shower, according to NASA, with lower viewing rates in South America and the southern portion of Africa.
"The Perseids have been observed for at least 2,000 years and are associated with the comet Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the sun once every 133 years," NASA said in a statement. "Each year in August, the Earth passes through a cloud of the comet's debris. These bits of ice and dust — most over 1,000 years old — burn up in the Earth's atmosphere to create one of the best meteor showers of the year."
"The Perseids can be seen all over the sky, but the best viewing opportunities will be across the northern hemisphere. Those with sharp eyes will see that the meteors radiate from the direction of the constellation Perseus," the statement continued.
Despite the near-full moon, some were still able to catch a few of the streaking meteors burning up in the atmosphere.
Some, though, were not as lucky.
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