<p><strong>A multiple exposure highlights the <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/08/140812-perseids-meteors-shower-moon-science-ngspace/">Perseid meteor shower</a> in the early morning hours of August 12.</strong></p><p>The image, taken in the mountains north of Madrid, shows the dust and debris from the Swift-Tuttle comet streaming through Earth's atmosphere. Our planet passes through this debris field every summer, making the Perseids one of the most reliable night sky events of the year. (See <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/08/140812-perseids-meteors-shower-moon-science-ngspace/">"Google Doodle Honors 2014 Perseid Meteor Shower."</a>)</p><p><em>—Jane J. Lee</em></p>

Early Morning Shower

A multiple exposure highlights the Perseid meteor shower in the early morning hours of August 12.

The image, taken in the mountains north of Madrid, shows the dust and debris from the Swift-Tuttle comet streaming through Earth's atmosphere. Our planet passes through this debris field every summer, making the Perseids one of the most reliable night sky events of the year. (See "Google Doodle Honors 2014 Perseid Meteor Shower.")

—Jane J. Lee

Photograph by Dani Pozo, AFP/Getty

Week's Best Space Pictures: Meteors Shower, Sweden Burns, and Rosetta Orbits

The Perseids compete with a supermoon, a Swedish forest goes up in smoke, and the Rosetta spacecraft orbits a comet.

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