Perseids and Milky Way over Lake Constance

Every August there are the Perseids, a meteor shower that peaks on the night of 12 to 13 August. This time quite a lot came together: clear skies, a good view of the Milky Way and an almost new moon as well – really ideal conditions for a few photos. At two in the morning I packed up and finally went to bed. This picture is the result. Only the Säntis unfortunately wasn’t visible, but that would probably have been too good to be true. The apparent origin of the shooting stars lies in the constellation Perseus, hence the name; in German folklore they are also called the tears of St Lawrence. The often-quoted hundred meteors an hour only apply under ideal conditions in the high mountains – on the edge of a small town it is more like ten to fifteen.