The Perseid meteor shower, one of the most reliable showers and one that happens to be at a time when it is generally nice to be outside, peaks in a few days. If you can find a dark area, you can expect about 70 to over 100 per hour. The pre-dawn hours of August 12th are generally the best time, but the 11th and 13th won't disappointing if they are more convenient and clear for you.
a video promo from NASA
It turns out we are flying through a path of dust left by the comet Swift-Tuttle. Our closing speed is on the fast side for meteors - 59 kilometers per second or 132,000 miles per hour - causing the grain of sand sized specs to burn up in the atmosphere producing the beautiful trails.
If you extend the path of the the meteors backwards, they appear to come from the same spot in the sky - in this case it is in the constellation Perseus, hence their name.
Occasionally a larger piece is encountered and produces a much brighter event - a fireball. This shower tends not to have a lot of them, but if you watch for a few hours in a dark area you have even odds of seeing one.
I've been watching since I was nine. There are few better ways to spend a clear, dark and mostly moonless night.
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