ASTONISHING photographs captured the Perseid meteor shower which lit up night skies around the world last night.
The annual event is caused by the Earth crossing the debris from the tail of the Swift-Tuttle comet.
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The Perseid meteor shower reached its peak last night lighting up skies around the world with shooting starsCredit: Geoff Robinson Photography
Dust and rock jettisoned from comet burn up as they enter our atmosphere, appearing as shining lights shooting across the night sky.
The shower appears to come from the direction of the Perseus constellation from which it gets its name.
It technically began on July 17 but reached its most spectacular stage last night when up to 80 meteors an hour rained down on earth - double what was experienced last year.
Jane Houston Jones from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said: "The famous and reliably active Perseid meteor shower peaks in the morning hours of August 12th.
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"The moon, which paired up so nicely with Mars and Saturn on the 11th, is bright enough to blot out some of the meteors, but-lucky for you it sets about 1 a.m. on the morning of the 12th, just at the peak time for the best Perseid viewing."
"Though you'll see the most meteors after moonset on Friday morning August 12th, the days on either side of the peak have elevated rates too, and even a week before and after the 12th you'll see some Perseids."
Although the natural fireworks display peaked last night it will continue for a few more days.
Those in areas with low light pollution may want to have deck chair and a blanket ready to drink in one of nature's most stunning events.
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The annual event started on July 17 but reached its peak last night as seen here over a windmill in SomersetCredit: PA:Press Association
A lone farmhouse stands under the backdrop of a 'rotating' night sky during the early hours of this morningCredit: North News and Pictures
Milky Way and Perseid meteor shower over Hatchet Pond, Brockenhurst, HampshireCredit: Rex Features
The shooting stars light up the sky over the Holy Island of Lindisfarne,NorthumberlandCredit: GEOFF ROBINSON PHOTOGRAPHY
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A shooting star is seen in the night sky during the Perseid meteor shower in Jankowo, near Poznan, PolandCredit: PAP
A time lapse photograph captures shooting stars streaking across the night sky over the Yorkshire dalesCredit: GEOFF ROBINSON PHOTOGRAPHY
A long exposure shot of Stone Henge shows how many meteors burned up in the atmosphere across the world last nightCredit: SWNS
Star trails over a light polluted Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire as the annual event lit up Britain's skies last nightCredit: Moment Editorial
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The Perseid Meteor Shower seen over Orcombe Point, Devon. This year's event saw twice as many meteor's fall as last yearCredit: SWNS
A picture taken with a slow shutter shows a meteor moving past stars in the night sky over lake Neusiedlersee near Moerbisch am See, around 70 km southeast of Vienna, AustriaCredit: EPA
A meteor streaks past the faint band of the Milky Way galaxy above the Wyoming countryside in the USACredit: AP:Associated Press
A streak appears in the sky during the annual Perseid meteor shower at the Guadarrama mountains, near MadridCredit: AP:Associated Press
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A shooting star streaks across the Milky Way in one of natures most spectacular annual eventsCredit: SWNS:South West News Service
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