This Is the Best Time to Watch the Perseid Meteor Shower

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.

As the night nears dawn, Cooke says viewers can expect to see a meteor every minute or so, which is about standard for the Perseids. "Remember, you don't have to look directly at the constellation to see them. You can look anywhere you want to - even directly overhead".

This year, the Perseid meteor shower will be particularly spectacular because the moon will be a thin crescent and will set early leaving a dark canvas for the meteors' bright streaks.

Once they show up in the sky, the Perseids appear to radiate from the Constellation Perseus which has earned them their namesake. This weekend (August 12-13th) marks the peak period to view the Perseids across all of North America.

Greater numbers of meteors are visible when the radiant is high.

The best time to see those meteors is at around 11 p.m. ET until dawn the next morning.

The best summertime meteor shower - the Perseids - will be coming to a sky near you this coming weekend, weather permitting. It's a rich meteor shower, and it's steady.

Those who plan to catch a glimpse of the shower also will be able to see Mars until about 4 a.m.

"Relax, be patient, and let your eyes adapt to the darkness", Kelly Beatty, Sky & Telescope senior editor said in a statement.

This means we'll be left with a dark sky for the rest of the night, and only city light pollution will interfere with the show.

So when is the Perseid meteor shower? One key tip is to try to get away from city lights. Your meteor rates will be lower, but it's possible to see at least a few of the brightest meteors over the course of a few hours.

Keen stargazers may have already spotted one or two streaking meteors since around mid-July when the Perseids started to appear.

The Perseid meteors are actually pieces of debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle, the largest object known to repeatedly pass by Earth.