SPACE

Feast your eyes on our sister planet this weekend: Venus will be at its highest point in our sky on June 4.

A rare hybrid solar eclipse will be visible tonight in parts of the world -- but not in the U.S. Don’t worry, you can still watch it on a live stream!

If you missed the three-planet cosmic kiss in early March, take note of an even bigger event this week.

If you missed the three-planet cosmic kiss in early March, take note of a bigger event at the end of the month.

Look up into the night sky tonight in Metro Detroit -- you could catch a glimpse of two planets.

Michigan is a winter wonderland, even from space.

Something that hasn’t been seen in 50,000 years is set to light up the sky.

The year’s final big meteor shower peaks Wednesday night -- and Michiganders will have a chance to catch it, if the weather cooperates.

Did you see a possible fireball streaking across the night sky in Southeast Michigan on Thursday night?

A pair of experiments exploring bone density with and without gravity are headed to the International Space Station.

Some non-election related Nov. 8 content for you, the last lunar eclipse for three years will occur early Tuesday morning, according to NASA.

One of the best meteor showers of the year is ready for its peak night on Friday, and you should be able to spot them here in Michigan.

This Monday, NASA crashes a spacecraft into an asteroid at 15,000 mph.

Watch live as NASA’s mega Moon rocket launches an uncrewed Orion spacecraft on a six-week mission around the Moon and back to Earth.

Michiganders could catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights this week.

Michiganders could catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights this week.

A Detroit Chemist has taken her love for science and beauty, and created a successful business. “So I actually go into the lab and formulate all of the products by hand, that we do sell and produce, and I’ve actually created these formulas from scratch over the years,” Alyssa Space, Founder & CEO of 4 Her Cosmetics told “Live in the D’s,” April Morton.

We’re going to get a look at the first full-color images from the James Webb Space Telescope today.

The White House is unveiling the first image from NASA's new space telescope and it's the deepest view of the cosmos ever captured.

We’re going to get a look at the first full-color images from the James Webb Space Telescope next month.

Have you had a UFO experience in Michigan? Maybe you’ve seen something you couldn’t explain? We want to hear all about it.

A House panel is going to hold a public hearing on “unidentified aerial phenomena,” also known as UFOs.

Welcome to Sunday, Motown.

Stormy weather continues through the midnight hour and during the early hours of Monday. A total lunar eclipse will occur late Sunday night into early Monday morning.

Once the rain clears out of Metro Detroit this weekend, we’re in for a late-night treat: A total lunar eclipse!

The Event Horizon Telescope has captured the first image of the supermassive black hole at the center of our own Milky Way galaxy.

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter recently captured images of the gear that helped the Perseverance rover land on Mars.

A NASA Earth scientist goes into detail about what kind of projects are being utilized to give us more information about our home planet.

One private astronaut is promising to take his crew closer to the moon than anyone has been since the last Apollo mission.

There's a lot happening in space lately -- here's a roundup of what's new this week, including a tree stump of sorts on a different planet, Earth has a new companion and the International Space Station will come crashing to Earth soon.

This past week has been a busy one in the space world: We’re talking about a telescope’s final destination one million miles from Earth, four tons of metal barreling toward the moon and a mystery in the cosmos that is baffling scientists.

Asteroid 7482 (1994 PC1) won’t be this close for another 200 years.

We all know from Star Trek that space is the final frontier, and in 2021 we saw a big jump in space exploration. Now, if you want to get closer to the stars you can see a new exhibit in Metro Detroit that will take you on a journey to our future.

After 25 years of development, NASA launched the James Webb Telescope last weekend.

We might not be able to claim that 2021 was *the* wildest year in recent history (2020 will likely get that credit for quite some time), but it might be a close second.

An annual NBC tradition is airing “It’s a Wonderful Life” on Christmas Eve -- but there’s something you might not know.

The annual Geminid meteor shower is set to peak this week and we’ll have a shot to see it in Michigan skies.

This year has been an extraordinary year for space travel.

The longest partial lunar eclipse of the year is happening early Friday, and people in all 50 states will be able to view it.

Was it a meteor, like we saw a few years ago in Metro Detroit? Experts don’t think so.

A large, mysterious fireball lit up the sky early Wednesday morning across Michigan, the Midwest and even Canada.

What in the world was that?!

Actor William Shatner and Audrey Powers, Blue Origin’s vice president of mission and flight operations, will fly on board New Shepard NS-18. They will join crewmates Chris Boshuizen and Glen de Vries for the flight.

Watch the SpaceX 'Inspriation4' launch scheduled to take off on Sept. 15, 2021.

Smoke alarms went off at the Russian segment of the International Space Station in the early hours of Thursday, and the crew reported noticing smoke and the smell of burnt plastic.

The small helicopter that landed on Mars with rover Perseverance has exceeded expectations, flying for the 12th time on the red planet and capturing the landscape like never before.

The peak of the annual Perseid Meteor Shower is almost here!

NASA is looking for volunteers to help them simulate a mission to the Red Planet.

Sunday’s episode of Tech Time is about detecting microplastics in the ocean from space.

We’re lucky to get fleeting moments throughout the year when we can witness beautiful sights in the sky. Thanks to space experts, we’re fortunate enough to have a heads up as to when we’ll get the best view of them.

Jeff Bezos blasted into space Tuesday on his rocket company’s first flight with people on board, becoming the second billionaire in just over a week to ride his own spacecraft.

The small helicopter flying on Mars hasn’t just been successful -- it’s been overachieving.

Thrill-seeking billionaire Richard Branson is streaking toward space aboard his own winged rocket ship in his boldest adventure yet.

If you’ve missed any of the celestial events that have happened this year already -- the Pink Moon in April or the recent solar eclipse, to name a couple -- you’ve got one more chance to witness a rare supermoon this year, and it’s happening this week.

Overnight Wednesday (Detroit time), the moon will pass in front of the sun, blocking part of the sun and casting its shadow on the earth.

Animal spaceflights paved the way for the first human astronauts, and today, creatures big and small continue to space travel, advancing our knowledge of how the zero-gravity environment impacts all beings and aiding research down on Earth.

General Motors (GM) and Lockheed Martin are teaming up to develop a new lunar vehicle for NASA's Artemis program.

A mission to explore energy transport in space using a NASA suborbital sounding rocket launching from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia may provide a brief light show for residents of the eastern United States and Bermuda.

For its third Mars flight, NASA's small Mars chopper flew at speeds and distances well beyond what had ever been previously tested here on Earth.

This week, NASA will start preparing for the possibility of an asteroid hitting the earth in the future.

The first flight lasted just 30 seconds with Ingenuity simply taking off, hovering 10 feet above the ground and touching down again. Each flight will get more complicated.

One of the goals of NASA’s Mars Rover, Perseverance, is to test new technology that could support future human missions to the Red Planet.

An interactive exhibit is being held at the Somerset Collection.

The U.S. Department of Defense recently confirmed that a 2019 video that captured apparent unidentified flying objects is an authentic video.

NASA collected data from their small helicopter Ingenuity on Monday morning that revealed its successful flight on mars -- the first controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet.

NASA's experimental Mars helicopter has taken flight.

NASA is getting ready for yet another historic flight: A 4-pound helicopter is being prepared to fly on Mars. During a news briefing on Tuesday, NASA officials and engineers talked about preparations for the upcoming maiden voyage of the small helicopter, named Ingenuity. AdSee: Part of Wright brothers’ 1st airplane on NASA’s Mars chopperNASA is hoping to fly the small Ingenuity on April 8. NASA’s successfully landed its Mars Rover Perseverance on Feb. 18 this year near an ancient river delta in the Jezero Crater to search for signs of ancient microscopic life. AdMore: Check out these new photos from Mars Rover ‘Perseverance’Related: Dream realized: Rochester Hills native named NASA flight director

If you thought the northern lights were a rare sight for us earthlings, you may want to think again. Those beautiful colors most visible in the Arctic and Antarctic are not only found on Earth: Jupiter has northern lights, too. Northern lights here on Earth result from charged particles from the sun that interact with the earth’s magnetosphere to create that glow that we see. AdPrevious missions did not really provide a good look at the Jovian aurorae, but Juno is a polar-orbiting spacecraft, so these images are our first real deep dive into the planet’s northern lights. New revelations on Jupiter, combined with those recently discovered on Mars, have made for an interesting year of space exploration so far!

As a way to honor Native Americans -- and, particularly, a Navajo engineer on the Mars Rover Perseverance team -- NASA is naming points of interest on Mars using the Navajo language. The latest NASA rover to land on Mars is currently focusing on a rock named after the planet it’s on -- but in Navajo. The rock is called “Maaz,” which means “Mars” in the Navajo language. The Navajo engineer on the Perseverance team helped get permission and collaboration from his tribe to use the names. Listen: NASA Perseverance rover captures audio from MarsAdNASA’s Mars Rover Perseverance successfully landed on Feb. 18 near an ancient river delta in the Jezero Crater to search for signs of ancient microscopic life.

This photo provided by NASA shows US astronaut Kate Rubins outside the International Space Station during a space walk on Friday, March 5, 2021. Rubins and Japan's Soichi Noguchi floated outside to complete unfinished work from Sunday's spacewalk. More mounting brackets and struts need to be installed for new and improved solar panels due to arrive in June. (NASA via AP)

Local 4 meteorologist Paul Gross was born in Detroit and has spent his entire life and career right here in southeast Michigan. Paul has researched, written and produced eight half-hour documentaries for WDIV, as well as many science, historical and environmental stories.

Back dropped by the rotating earth, U.S. Army and NASA Astronaut Col. Andrew Morgan pauses for a photo opportunity during extravehicular activity (EVA) #64 at the International Space Station’s Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer worksite Jan. 25, 2020. Col. Morgan and Italian Air Force and ESA astronaut Col. Luca Parmitano participated in this fourth and final EVA to complete repairs on the AMS, a state-of-the-art particle physics detector. The emblems displayed on Col. Morgan's cuff checklist are U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (top) and U.S. Space Command (bottom). (Photo by ESA Astronaut Luca Parmitano)(Department of Defense)

NASA Mars Rover Perseverance is giving a never-before-seen view of the Red Planet just days after its successful landing. With 19 cameras on board, Perseverance provides a 360-degree panorama view of Mars, visible in a new high definition image of the rover’s landing site. Check out the view in the video above from NBC News, or take a longer look in NASA’s Twitter video touring the Mars landing site below. #CountdownToMarshttps://t.co/9tpv4Vl4lV — NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 25, 2021The Mars rover successfully landed on Feb. 18 near an ancient river delta in the Jezero Crater to search for signs of ancient microscopic life. AdAs NASA’s biggest and most advanced rover, Perseverance successfully tackled NASA’s smallest and trickiest target by landing in the Jezero Crater, which is a 5-by-4-mile strip on an ancient river delta full of pits, cliffs and rocks.

ANN ARBOR – Its perhaps one of the silver linings of so much isolation -- fun events streaming straight into your home. The University of Michigan Museum of Natural History is now offering free virtual planetarium programs for the whole family. Starting on Thursday, go to the edge of the solar system, learn about planets and constellations with this fun, educational event. To register, click here. Virtual planetarium show schedule (Thursdays at 4 p.m.):Feb. 25March 4March 11March 18March 25More dates may be added in the future.

NASA shared the first video it received from the Perseverance rover on Mars. The new point-of-view video released Monday shows the Perseverance rover shedding its shields and performing its landing maneuvers, including the successful touchdown. Watch how we did it.#CountdownToMars pic.twitter.com/Avv13dSVmQ — NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 22, 2021The Perseverance rover landed last Thursday near an ancient river delta in Jezero Crater to search for signs of ancient microscopic life. After spending the weekend binge-watching the descent and landing video, the team at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, shared the video at a news conference. Read more: NASA releases Mars landing video: ‘Stuff of our dreams’Ad

New video shows the dramatic landing of NASA’s new Mars Rover last week. NASA released new point-of-view video showing the Perseverance Rover shedding its shields and performing its landing maneuvers, including the successful touchdown. Your front-row seat to my Mars landing is here. Watch how we did it.#CountdownToMars pic.twitter.com/Avv13dSVmQ — NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 22, 2021Perseverance, the biggest, most advanced rover ever sent by NASA, became the ninth spacecraft since the 1970s to successfully land on Mars, every one of them from the U.S. Scientists believe that if life ever flourished on Mars, it would have happened 3 billion to 4 billion years ago, when water still flowed on the planet.

This Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021 photo provided by NASA shows the Perseverance rover lowered towards the surface of Mars during its powered descent. (NASA via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA will offer a live update on their Perseverance rover after landing safely on Mars last week. NASA equipped the spacecraft with a record 25 cameras and two microphones, many of which were turned on during Thursday’s descent. It's the ninth time that NASA has successfully landed on Mars __ and the fifth rover. As it did with 2012's Curiosity rover — still roaming 2,300 miles (3,750 kilometers) away — NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter photographed Perseverance descending beneath its massive parachute.

Perseverance is healthy and working just fine days after landing on Mars. Now we’re getting the first images from the NASA rover -- and they’re stunning. There are a lot of scientific instruments on the rover that we will get to see in action. It also has a “weather station” on it that will analyze the Mars weather. Full Screen Full Screen 1 / 3 This Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021 photo provided by NASA shows the Perseverance rover lowered towards the surface of Mars during its powered descent.

(Image: NASA JPL)NASA’s new Mars Rover “Perseverance” is sending back some amazing photos, just a day after landing on the red planet! #CountdownToMars pic.twitter.com/8SgV53S9KG — NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 19, 2021Read: NASA rover Perseverance lands on Mars: How it went, and what’s nextA couple of others show the rocky surface surrounding the Rover:An open horizon, with so much to explore. #CountdownToMars pic.twitter.com/hAaxeVGs04 — NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 19, 2021I love rocks. Can’t wait to find out.#CountdownToMarshttps://t.co/7w3rbvbyoL pic.twitter.com/H3q1M0YJAd — NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 19, 2021Every picture tells a story. Latest update and images: https://t.co/fnnEOOMWsV pic.twitter.com/39aGp963a3 — NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 19, 2021Perseverance, the biggest, most advanced rover ever sent by NASA, became the ninth spacecraft since the 1970s to successfully land on Mars, every one of them from the U.S.

The NASA Perseverance rover made a successful landing on Mars on Thursday. Perseverance, the biggest, most advanced rover ever sent by NASA, became the ninth spacecraft since the 1970s to successfully land on Mars, every one of them from the U.S. However, they believe this is one of the best spots on Mars to search for signs of ancient life. Ad“Onboard Perseverance we have some pieces of technology that are specifically flying to mars to advance human exploration,” said Adam Steltzner, NASA Perseverance chief engineer. AdRead more: NASA rover lands on Mars to look for signs of ancient life

This illustration provided by NASA depicts the Mars 2020 spacecraft carrying the Perseverance rover as it approaches Mars. Perseverance's $3 billion mission is the first leg in a U.S.-European effort to bring Mars samples to Earth in the next decade. (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA successfully landed its newest rover on Mars! #CountdownToMars pic.twitter.com/dkM9jE9I6X — NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 18, 2021Watch NASA’s live Mars Rover coverage below:Spacecraft aiming to land on Mars have skipped past the planet, burned up on entry, smashed into the surface, and made it down amid a fierce dust storm only to spit out a single fuzzy gray picture before dying. Almost 50 years after the first casualty at Mars, NASA is attempting its hardest Martian touchdown yet.

This illustration provided by NASA depicts the Mars 2020 spacecraft carrying the Perseverance rover as it approaches Mars. (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA will attempt to land its newest Mars Rover, Perseverance, on Thursday, more than six months after it left Earth. Watch NASA’s live Mars Rover coverage below. Almost 50 years after the first casualty at Mars, NASA is attempting its hardest Martian touchdown yet. COVID-19 PRECAUTIONSSpeaking of clean, NASA’s Mars Mission Control has never been so spotless.

This illustration provided by NASA depicts the Mars 2020 spacecraft carrying the Perseverance rover as it approaches Mars. Perseverance's $3 billion mission is the first leg in a U.S.-European effort to bring Mars samples to Earth in the next decade. (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA will attempt to land its newest Mars Rover, Perseverance, on Thursday, more than six months after it left Earth. Watch NASA’s live Mars Rover coverage below. Almost 50 years after the first casualty at Mars, NASA is attempting its hardest Martian touchdown yet.

Here’s a look at how NASA’s Perseverance rover will attempt to land on Mars on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021. Dr. Roger Weins, a NASA scientist, explained why it’s so difficult to land on the Red Planet. “Partly because of the very thin air on Mars. But with that thin air on Mars, that only slows it down to several hundred mph, and that’s not good enough to land at all. After that, you have to use retro rockets.

One week from today, NASA will attempt to land its newest rover onto the red planet. This is no easy task, as you’ll see in this short video explaining how NASA will try to stick this landing -- watch above. Read more: NASA launches Mars 2020 Perseverance roverPerseverance was launched successfully back in July from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The rover is set to land on Mars Feb. 18, 2021 at the planet’s Jezero Crater. The mission has the ambitious goal of returning samples of Mars rock and soil back to Earth.

About 3 grams (0.1 ounce) of the black granules are from Ryugu's surface and were gathered when Hayabusa2 touched down on the asteroid in April 2019. AdBased on near-infrared spectrophotometer analysis of data transmitted by Hayabusa2, JAXA scientists found that the asteroid was exposed to extremely high temperatures both on its surface and underground, possibly caused by an internal source of heat or planetary collisions rather than heat from the sun. Kohei Kitazato, a University of Aizu planetary scientist working with JAXA, said his team found indications of heat exceeding 300 degrees Celsius (572 degrees Fahrenheit) both on the asteroid surface and underground. AdJAXA is continuing an initial examination of the asteroid samples ahead of fuller studies next year. Following studies in Japan, some of the samples will be shared with NASA and other international space agencies for additional research.

Andrea Wolf, who has been in the organizing business for 15 years, said January is one of her busiest time of the year. “Always start with a blank slate,” Wolf added. “In order to get that blank slate, that means you’ve got to go through and touch everything in that closet. “If your space needs to be re-imagined from where it was before, we can look at it with a blank slate,” Wolf said. Wolf advised not to go out and buy items that you likely will not need once you’ve cleaned your space.

NASA astronaut and Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy took this epic "space-selfie" during a spacewalk this at the International Space Station on July 21, 2020. (Credit: NASA)

Local 4 meteorologist Paul Gross was born in Detroit and has spent his entire life and career right here in southeast Michigan. Paul has researched, written and produced eight half-hour documentaries for WDIV, as well as many science, historical and environmental stories.

DETROIT – Crew members on the International Space Station rang in the new year with a very different ball drop Thursday. How do you drop the ball in zero gravity? Turns out you do not. The globe they used for the ball drop went up, not down. The NASA astronauts also got to celebrate the start of 2021 16 times, since the space station orbits the earth every 90 minutes.

DETROIT – As you probably know, an annual NBC tradition is airing “It’s a Wonderful Life” on Christmas Eve -- and this year, more than any other year, we need that movie. There is a way cool science angle to the movie that nobody knows about: Near the beginning, remember the scene where the angels in heaven choose an angel named Clarence to head to Earth to save George Bailey? Well, there’s an ultra-cool science angle to that scene. Check out my explanation in the short video above -- it’ll make your Christmas even more special! RELATED: Best Christmas movie?

DETROIT – If the weather cooperates, something very special will be visible on the winter solstice this Monday night -- the “Star of Bethlehem,” also known as the “Christmas Star.”Despite the names, it’s actually not a star at all. Since Jupiter orbits the sun every 12 years and Saturn orbits the sun every 30 years, the two largest planets in the solar system don’t line up very often. The two gas giants will cross paths in the night sky on the winter solstice on Monday, Dec. 21. Though the planets are 450 million miles apart, to the naked eye, they will appear as one bright light in the sky. To view the Christmas Star, turn your gaze toward the southwest sky a little after sunset on Monday, Dec. 21.

With this year’s winter solstice comes more than just confirmation of our already-cold weather and ever-fleeting daylight: The rare “Christmas Star” will be visible for the first time in 800 years. Each year, Earth’s northern hemisphere enters the winter solstice on Dec. 21 -- the shortest day of the year -- officially marking the start of winter. This year, bright planets Jupiter and Saturn will align perfectly on Dec. 21 to create what is commonly called the Christmas Star or the “Star of Bethlehem.”According to NASA, Jupiter and Saturn align with one another every 20 years or so, but not nearly as close together as they will be in 2020. Experts say the Christmas Star can be seen by the unaided eye just after sunset on Dec. 21, 2020. You can see Saturn and Jupiter nearly align on Dec. 21, forming what appears to be a Christmas star.

This year’s only total solar eclipse will cross South American countries Chile and Argentina on Monday, Dec. 14. Watch live coverage of the eclipse beginning at 9:30 a.m. EST Monday in the video player below, courtesy of Slooh. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon is the perfect size and distance from Earth to block out the sun entirely when their orbits cross paths. A total solar eclipse will cross Chile and Argentina on Dec. 14, 2020. Another total solar eclipse is expected to cross just below Detroit in 2024.

The only total solar eclipse of the year will cross South America on Monday, Dec. 14. A total solar eclipse will cross Chile and Argentina on Dec. 14, 2020. So, in those rare occurrences where the moon makes a direct path across the sun, we get a solar eclipse. Watch Slooh’s live coverage of the Dec. 14 total solar eclipse below. In 2024, a total solar eclipse will take a path quite close to Detroit.

This year, the International Space Station celebrated 20 years of having a continuous human presence on it. But what exactly is the International Space Station and what does it do? Over a 13-year period from 1998-2011, different modules were launched into space and attached to each other in orbit by astronauts. That mission was successful to create an initial base, and in subsequent years, other modules were launched into orbit and connected. The ISS is aging -- and if it’s not eventually destroyed or taken down by humans, space obstacles might arise, according to space.com.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Four astronauts have climbed aboard a SpaceX rocket have officially launched to the International Space Station on Sunday night. You can watch the live coverage of their journey to the International Space Station using the video player below. The launch was delayed from Saturday night to Sunday night after Elon Musk was sidelined from the event due to COVID-19. The astronauts' flashy white suits with black trim matched their rides, made by Elon Musk’s two main companies: SpaceX and Tesla. Read more here: SpaceX aims for night crew launch, Elon Musk sidelined by virus

With COVID-19 still surging, NASA continued the safety precautions put in place for SpaceX’s crew launch in May. Even the two astronauts on the first SpaceX crew flight stayed behind at Johnson Space Center in Houston. “I didn’t start breathing until about a minute after it took off,” Pence said during a stop at SpaceX Launch Control to congratulate the workers. Similar pleas for SpaceX’s first crew launch on May 30 went unheeded. The first-stage booster is expected to be recycled by SpaceX for the next crew launch.

Friday’s postponement news came after SpaceX chief Elon Musk disclosed he had gotten mixed test results for COVID-19 and was awaiting the outcome of a more definitive test. “I can assure everyone that we’re looking good for the (crew) launch and all of the critical personnel involved,” said SpaceX’s Benji Reed, senior director for human spaceflight. “So ‘Elon Musk Tests Negative for Covid’ is an equally correct title,” he tweeted. The upcoming crew flight comes just three months after the end of the test flight with Hurley and Bob Behnken, both NASA astronauts. NASA and SpaceX are especially eager to retrieve this first-stage booster; it will be used for the next crew launch.

Have you heard of the Leonid meteor shower? It comes around every November, but the chances of seeing it this year are much higher than last year. The shower happens at the same time every year, when Earth’s orbit crosses the orbit of Comet Tempel-Tuttle, according to Space.com. A trail of dust is left behind the comet, and when Earth’s orbit crosses that trail, pieces of the comet fall toward our planet’s surface. Luckily for us, meteors are visible to the naked eye, and the shower will peak overnight Monday into Tuesday (Nov. 16-17) around 3 a.m.