A view of a powerful meteor shower known as the Perseids taken near the village of Bogushevichi, some 100 kilometers from Minsk in Belarus, on Monday night. The Perseids shower happens every year when the earth passes through space debris left by the comet Swift-Tuttle. The meteors appear as bright flashes of light which last a couple of seconds. The chance to see the Perseids normally lasts for two weeks but August 12 and 13 are the peak times because the Earth passes through the thickest patch of the meteor stream. People in the northern hemisphere get a better view than those south of the equator. At its peak the shower can average a hundred meteors an hour.