Meteor from the perseids meteor shower over Ripon, north yorkshire, UK

The Perseids meteor shower is an annual event where you can see lots of "shooting stars" in the night sky. It happens around mid-August when Earth passes through a trail of dust and debris left by a comet called Swift-Tuttle. As these tiny bits of comet dust hit Earth's atmosphere, they burn up, creating bright streaks of light.

You can see the Perseids best in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in dark, clear skies away from city lights. The shower is named after the constellation Perseus because the meteors seem to come from that part of the sky.