ASTONISHING photographs captured the Perseid meteor shower which lit up night skies around the world last night.
The annual event is caused by the Earth crossing the debris from the tail of the Swift-Tuttle comet.
Dust and rock jettisoned from comet burn up as they enter our atmosphere, appearing as shining lights shooting across the night sky.
The shower appears to come from the direction of the Perseus constellation from which it gets its name.
It technically began on July 17 but reached its most spectacular stage last night when up to 80 meteors an hour rained down on earth - double what was experienced last year.
Jane Houston Jones from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said: "The famous and reliably active Perseid meteor shower peaks in the morning hours of August 12th.
"The moon, which paired up so nicely with Mars and Saturn on the 11th, is bright enough to blot out some of the meteors, but-lucky for you it sets about 1 a.m. on the morning of the 12th, just at the peak time for the best Perseid viewing."
"Though you'll see the most meteors after moonset on Friday morning August 12th, the days on either side of the peak have elevated rates too, and even a week before and after the 12th you'll see some Perseids."
Although the natural fireworks display peaked last night it will continue for a few more days.
Those in areas with low light pollution may want to have deck chair and a blanket ready to drink in one of nature's most stunning events.