Perseid meteor shower this weekend

What you can expect to see if you're in an optimum viewing spot (read: anywhere devoid of light pollution) is around 60 or 70 meteors streaking through the sky every hour.

He said: "The moon is very favourable for the Perseids this year, and that'll make the Perseids, which are rich in fireballs, probably the best shower of 2018".

To watch the shower, just head to the darkness of the desert after midnight, throw down a mat and look to the skies. The best time to view the meteor shower is between 1AM and 3AM.

The Perseids are dust and debris from the Comet Swift-Tuttle, AccuWeather explains.

The meteors can be traced to the Perseus constellation, from which they get their name, which will climb in the northeastern sky as the evening passes. At their peak, the Perseids can produce 100 meteors an hour. Lucky for Julian stargazers, this coincides with the annual Perseid meteor shower display at the darkest sky possible, improving the visibility of the meteors as they zoom through the sky's dome.

According to Dr Morgan Hollis of the Royal Astronomical Society, the shower will peak on the night between Sunday, August 12 and Monday, August 13.

Meteor showers are typically visible with the naked eye, and so no special equipment is needed (Photo: Shutterstock)How regular will the meteors be?

The Perseid meteor shower is happening and Space.com says the shower will peak during overnight hours as Aug. 11 turns into Aug. 12 and again overnight on Aug. 12-13.

Dim meteors appear as a momentary flash of light while the brighter ones leave a glowing streak. NASA reports that Comet Swift-Tuttle is the largest solar system object that repeatedly passes close to Earth, and it completes a full orbit every 133 years. The number will then start to diminish, though higher-than-average meteor activity associated with the Perseids should be visible through August 24. Okay, so maybe seeing a meteor shower isn't so easy after all.

To make the best of the meteors, observers should avoid built-up areas and try to find an unobstructed view to the east. Scientists from NASA also said that camping out in the country can triple the amount of visible meteors.

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