Meteor lights up night sky over Siberia

Last night’s Perseid meteor shower, as seen from Mount Laguna. Every summer, when Earth passes through bits of ice and rock that were left behind by the comet Swift-Tuttle, the sky puts on a show. Often called “The Perseids,” the shower typically peaks in August; when we approach the densest and dustiest areas of debris, the particles burn up in the atmosphere, and their sparkling trails flit across the sky. This year, the moon was a mere sliver, so the meteors had a starring role. Though last n