Perseids dazzle in the night sky

Meteor shower, which began July 17, reaches its peak Thursday and Friday

A leaning tree in silhouette with a meteor streaking across a starry night sky. — A Perseid meteor streaks across the night sky in the Negev Desert in Israel early Thursday. (Amir Cohen/Reuters)

The Perseid meteor shower occurs annually when Earth passes through the trail of debris left behind by Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle.

The celestial event peaked overnight, coinciding with a new moon that provided ideal conditions for stargazers because moonlight did not interfere with the view. Check out the shooting stars below.

Here, Perseid meteor streaks are seen across the sky at Mount Ramon in the Negev Desert, near the town of Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, early Thursday.

Meteor streaks, stars, the Milky Way seen in the night sky in a desert.

(Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images)

People watch a meteor as it streaks across the sky at Visnjan Observatory, Croatia, on Wednesday evening.

People sitting on a grassy lawn rimmed by forest with meteor streaks and stars in the night sky above them.

(Antonio Bronic/Reuters)

A meteor streaks across the night sky above the Stone Dolls of Kuklica, near Kratovo, North Macedonia, early Thursday.

Rock formations in silhouette with meteor streaks and stars in the sky at night.

(Robert Atanasovski/AFP/Getty Images)

People gather around the Monument to the Unknown Hero to watch the Perseid meteor shower, on Mount Avala, near Belgrade, Serbia.

Meteor streaks and stars at night, with people gathered on a grassy area by a monument.

(Andrej Isakovic/AFP/Getty Images)

A meteor, top right, streaks across the night sky above the megalithic stone walls of the ancient Illyrian city of Daorson near Stolac, in southern Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Meteor streaks and stars in the night sky above stone walls that are lit.

(Elvis Barukcic/AFP/Getty Images)

A meteor with a green tail, centre, and the streaks of two satellites are seen from Jacobsdorf, Germany, during the Perseid meteor shower on Wednesday.

Closeup of meteor streaks and stars in the sky at night.

(Patrick Pleul/dpa/The Associated Press)

A Perseid meteor streaks across the night sky behind St. Mark’s Tower, a 17th century coastal fortification near the village of Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq, Malta.