Astrophotographer Osama Fathi has done what most of us can only dream of while lying on a blanket and getting bitten by mosquitoes: he captured an absolutely stunning image of Perseid meteors streaking through circling star trails above Egypt's Western Desert. The shot was taken on Aug. 13-14, the night following the shower's peak, under dark new-moon skies - because of course the universe coordinated its lighting for him.

Fathi didn't just point and shoot. He imaged the star trails in 240 consecutive 25-second exposures, which captured the apparent motion of the stars as they seemed to circle the celestial north pole and the North Star Polaris. The length of each trail reveals how far the stars appeared to move as Fathi captured their ancient light with his Sony A7 III camera and a 16-35 mm lens during the 100-minute shoot. That's 100 minutes of standing very still in a desert, which is roughly 99 minutes longer than most of us can manage without checking our phones.

But Fathi wasn't alone beneath the desert skies. "Capturing this photo in Egypt's Western Desert during the Perseids was an unforgettable experience," Fathi told Space.com in an email. "The night was exceptionally clear and I was surrounded by around 200 fellow astronomy enthusiasts sharing stories, stargazing and photographing the sky." So basically a desert rave, but with telescopes and no questionable substances - unless you count the existential awe.

Perseid meteors appear as unbroken streaks of light, captured in a single exposure as tiny particles - often no larger than a grain of sand - burn up in Earth's atmosphere in the blink of an eye. It's humbling to think that a grain of sand can put on a better light show than most professional fireworks displays, and with zero fire hazard.

Dotted trails closer to the horizon depict the trajectories of satellites as they passed silently through the skies. Because nothing says "pristine natural wonder" like a few thousand pieces of orbiting space junk photobombing your masterpiece. Fathi captured the landscape and starscape separately before combining, or stacking, the images into a mesmerizing final product. The result is a gorgeous nightscape that highlights the beauty of the natural landscape, the rotation of Earth and the natural light show of the Perseid meteor shower that we experience as Earth passes through the trail of debris shed by comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle.

If you're now inspired to try this yourself, you can read guides on photographing star trails and check out picks for the best cameras and lenses for astrophotography available in 2026. Just remember: you'll need patience, a dark sky, and the ability to stay awake past 9 p.m. without complaining.

Editor's Note: If you would like to share your photos of the night sky with Space.com's readers, send your photo(s), comments, name and location to spacephotos@space.com. Who knows? Maybe your shot will be the next one to make us all feel inadequate about our smartphone snapshots.