Perseid meteor shower

This captivating image was taken by NASA photographer Bill Ingalls from Spruce Knob, West Virginia, with a Nikon D6 camera using a 30-second exposure. The Perseids take place every year in August when Earth passes through the trail of Comet Swift-Tuttle. The meteors providing the celestial spectacle are debris shed by the comet. The Perseid shower peaks in the second week of August. The experience was especially rewarding this year as the Moon had just passed its new phase and didn’t outshine the shooting stars.