Astronaud Ron Garan generously shared his photos of the Perseid meteor shower this weekend -- taken from outer space.

Garan is aboard the International Space Station as part of the Expedition 27 crew, which launched in April.

"What a 'Shooting Star' looks like #FromSpace," Garan said in his tweet of the photograph. At the time of the photograph, the space station was orbiting over China, a few hundred miles northwest of Beijing.

Every year in mid-August, the Earth passes through the orbit of the comet Swift-Tuttle. Although the comet is nowhere near the Earth, it leaves behind debris in the form of a meteor shower that lights up the night sky.

The outer space view of a shooting star may look somewhat familiar, but the views are distinct in that the meteor is moving away from Garan, where it appears to be coming towards us on earth.

Although this year's Persied meteor shower viewing was obstucted some by the light of a full moon, the light conditions in outer space are the perfect backdrop to view a single shooting star. On the other hand, watching a meteor streak past a cluster of stars is undoubtedly breathtaking.

Perseid Meteor Shower
NASA astronaut Ron Garan posted a photo via Twitter from the window of the International Space Station (ISS) depicting a shooting star from the 2011 Perseids Meteor Shower. Ron Garan/NASA
Perseid from outer space NASA handout
This NASA handout image, obtained by Reuters on August 16, 2011, shows a tweeted photograph from astronaut Ron Garan, Expedition 28 flight engineer, aboard the International Space Station on August 14 with the following caption: "What a 'Shooting Star' looks like from space, taken yesterday during Perseid Meteor Shower." The image was photographed from the orbiting complex on August 13 when it was over an area of China approximately 400 kilometers to the northwest of Beijing Reuters
Perseid Geneva
A meteor streaks past stars in the night sky at the Mont-Tendre near Montricher in the Jura, north of Geneva, late Aug. 12, 2009. This picture was taken using a long exposure and a fisheye lens. Reuters
Perseid kuklici
A meteor streaks past stars in the night sky over the village of Kuklici, known for its hundreds of naturally formed stones which resembles human beings, near Kratovo, 80 km (49 miles) east from capital Skopje, August 13, 2011. Reuters
Perseid Baja
A meteor streaks past stars in the night sky in Tecate in Baja California August 12, 2010. Picture taken on August 12, using a long exposure. Reuters
China China NASA Space