Billed as the most popular celestial show of the year, the Perseid Meteor Shower is going to put on quite a performance Thursday through Friday.
The Perseids, which began July 17, will peak late Thursday, August 11 through early Friday, August 12 and will be most visible after midnight in the Northern Hemisphere and down to the mid-southern latitudes.
NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke said as many as 150 to 200 meteors per hour will streak across the sky — as opposed to the typical 80 meteors per hour, according to space.com.
Moonlight will interfere with the Perseids the night of August 11, but the moon will set about 1 a.m. local time.
Experts suggest retreating to a dark area in the suburbs or the countryside for a few hours. Allow 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the darkness.
The Perseids, so named due to the appearance of originating from the Perseus constellation, are the result of debris and dust trailing behind Comet Swift-Tuttle.
The Perseids will end August 24.
