Exile, an interplanetary odyssey and a fateful encounter, this is the journey taken by each Perseid meteor.
The Perseids may steal the spotlight, but six lesser-known meteor showers could also light up summer skies.
The Perseid meteor shower begins on July 17 alongside two others, making “shooting stars” likely any night this month and next.
The 2026 Perseid meteor shower is active from tonight and peaks alongside a dramatic total solar eclipse on Aug. 12-13.
The June Bootids usually produce just a handful of meteors, but this notoriously unpredictable shower has a history of surprise outbursts.
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The fireball traveled 300 miles in a matter of seconds before disintegrating in spectacular fashion.
Most meteor showers are seen after dark, but the Arietids offer a rare chance to spot shooting stars in the dawn sky.
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Searing across the night sky, a meteor puts on a spectacular show above Arizona’s Kitt Peak National Observatory.
Footage from a satellite confirmed that a May 30 sonic boom heard over the northeastern US was from a meteor, NASA stated.
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The Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks in the early hours of May 6.