A Perseid Meteor . ... Grains of cosmic sand and gravel shed from Comet Swift-Tuttle will streak across the sky as they vaporize during entry into Earth's atmosphere . ... In a clear dark sky, an observer might see a meteor a minute near peak times , but this year a bright moon will overwhelm the glow from many perseid meteors until moonset in the early morning hours. ... As the meteor streaked across the night sky, different excited atoms emitted different colors of light. ...