Paris, France — It’s been raining stars and stars since mid July as the summertime phenomenon of the Perseid meteor showers plays out and delights sky gazers around the world as it has at least since Antiquity. Often called shooting stars, the meteors shower down on our planet Earth emanating from a point of origin in the constellation Perseus. The Perseids are particles released from comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle during its numerous returns to the inner solar system. These countless cometary « shards » collide with Earth, albeit burning up through the friction they encounter upon entering into the atmosphere. The Perseids are active every July and August and reached their peak on August 12th into the dawn of the 13th. However they will be visible until the end of August.  In case you miss this sky show it has been immortalized in fantastic photographs by French photographer Guillaume Cannat found at the Galerie Gadcollection in Paris. Mr. Cannat is specialised in photos of the sky and its myriad phenomena.

What exactly is the celestial event that is the Perseid meteor shower, arguably one of the most dramatic spectacles in the night sky?  The Royal Museums Greenwich explains, « As comets get close to the Sun, they heat up and pieces break off. If the debris ends up in the Earth’s path around the Sun, it can slam into our atmosphere at speeds of between 7–45 miles per second. The actual speed at which a meteor enters our atmosphere depends on the combined speed of the Earth and the debris itself. The average speed for a Perseid meteor is 36 miles per second. The air in front of the meteor is squashed and heated to thousands of degrees Celsius. The smaller meteors vaporise and leave behind a bright trail of light. Larger meteors can explode as fireballs. » ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette To see the photographs: https://www.gadcollection.com/fr/g/photographes/guillaume-cannat/ And: https://www.ingadwetrust.art/g/photographers/guillaume-cannat-en/

For additional information on meteors:

The Royal Museums Greenwich: https://www.rmg.co.uk/

The American Meteor Society: https://www.amsmeteors.org/