The Perseid meteor shower at its peak

Video. The Perseid meteor shower at its peak

The annual Perseid meteor shower peaked on Thursday night into early Friday.

The annual Perseid meteor shower peaked on Thursday night into early Friday.

The Perseids are named that way because the meteors appear to emanate from the constellation Perseus, the Medusa-killing hero of Greek mythology. A meteor shower is a visible indicator of a comet’s journey around the inner solar system. As comets enter the inner solar system (Perihelion passage) the sun’s rays heat up their frozen surfaces, in turn releasing trillions of small dust particles – and when the Earth crosses the trail left by the comets, they become visible.