Meteor by Moonlight

As seen on Astronomy Picture of the Day dark skies are favored for viewing annual meteor showers. But active meteor showers such as Perseid can still entertained skygazers even when the Moon has brightened the night. As shown in the above image the last quarter Moon rises above rock formations in the Alborz Mountains near Firouzkooh, Iran. With a dramatic desert landscape in the foreground, a Perseid meteor is streaking through the moonlit sky between the overexposed Moon and bright planet Jupiter at the upper right. A regular celestial event in the northern hemisphere, the Perseid Meteor Shower is caused by planet Earth’s yearly passage through the dust stream cast off by comet Swift-Tuttle.