Perseid meteor shower thrills

Aug 14, 2015

Thanks to a new moon, the Perseid meteor shower on Wednesday and Thursday nights was one of the best in years. Although the view of the meteor shower was best in the northern hemisphere, skywatchers in South Africa caught a glimpse of it as well. The Perseids have been observed for at least 2 000 years and are associated with the comet Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the sun once every 133 years.