The annual Perseid meteor shower occurs when Earth passes through the debris trail left by Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle. This celestial event reached its peak overnight, coinciding with a new moon that created optimal conditions for stargazers as the lack of moonlight ensured a clear view of the shooting stars.
In the early hours of Thursday, Perseid meteor streaks lit up the sky at Mount Ramon in the Negev Desert, near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel. Similarly, observers at Visnjan Observatory in Croatia witnessed a meteor streaking across the night sky on Wednesday evening.
In North Macedonia, a meteor streaked above the Stone Dolls of Kuklica near Kratovo, also in the early hours of Thursday. Meanwhile, in Serbia, people gathered at the Monument to the Unknown Hero on Mount Avala near Belgrade to witness the Perseid meteor shower.
In southern Bosnia-Herzegovina, a meteor streaked across the night sky above the megalithic stone walls of the ancient Illyrian city of Daorson near Stolac. Additionally, from Jacobsdorf, Germany, a meteor with a green tail and the trails of two satellites were visible during the Perseid meteor shower on Wednesday.
Lastly, in Malta, a Perseid meteor streaked across the night sky behind St. Mark’s Tower, a 17th-century coastal fortification near the village of Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq.