Perseid Meteors Over China
Comet dust rained down on planet Earth earlier this month, streaking through dark skies in the annual Perseid meteor shower . While enjoying the anticipated space weather above Zhangbei Prairie, Hebei Province , China , astronomer Xiang Zhan recorded a series of 10 second long exposures spanning four hours on the night of August 12/13 using a wide angle lens. Combining frames which captured 68 meteor flashes, he produced the above composite view of the Perseids of summer . Although the sand-sized comet particles are traveling parallel to each other, the resulting shower meteors clearly seem to radiate from a single point on the sky in the eponym ous constellation Perseus . The radiant effect is due to perspective , as the parallel tracks appear to converge at a distance. The next notable meteor shower may be the Orionids in late October. Gallery: Highlights of the 2013 Perseids Meteor Shower