© Getty Images

The best meteor shower of the year -

According to NASA's website, the Perseids are considered the best meteor shower of the year. And it's not hard to understand why.

© Shutterstock

The best meteor show of the year -

During its peak, there are up to 100 meteors per hour emanating from the Perseus constellation, lighting up the night sky of the Northern Hemisphere.

© Shutterstock

"Wakes" of light -

Due to the stunning speed at which the Perseids dart past, reaching a velocity of 37 miles (59km) per second, they leave long "wakes" of light behind them.

© Shutterstock

"Wakes" of light -

These wakes appear as streaks of color and light that streak past, illuminating the nightscape. The Perseids are also known for their fireballs. 

© Getty Images

The Swift-Tuttle comet -

These fireballs occur because the Perseids actually originate from a comet named 109P/Swift-Tuttle. Swift-Tuttle takes 133 years to orbit the sun.

© Getty Images

Comet discovery -

The comet is so-called as it was first discovered in 1862 by Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle. The 16-mile (26 km) nucleus of Swift-Tuttle makes it a large comet; twice the size of the one that is believed to have hit Earth to end the Triassic-Jurassic era.

© Getty Images

Comet discovery -

It wasn't until 1865 that it was discovered Swift-Tuttle was responsible for the Perseids origin. Pieces of debris from Swift-Tuttle interact with our atmosphere, and in doing so, create the Perseids. 

© Shutterstock

Perseus constellation -

The Perseids appear to come from the Perseus constellation, the part of the sky referred to as the radiant. However, the constellation is not the source of the meteors, the Swift-Tuttle comet is.

© Shutterstock

Perseus constellation -

They're named after the Perseus constellation to help guide viewers to the spot where they can see the meteor shower taking place.

© Getty Images

What makes a meteor? -

Bits of broken asteroids and the leftover particles of meteors create trails of debris in the skies. Each year, the Earth passes through them.

© Getty Images

What makes a meteor? -

When it does so, this debris collides with the Earth's atmosphere. On collision, disintegration of the debris occurs making colorful and fiery streaks that appear to us at ground level.

© Getty Images

Activity -

The Perseids meteor shower is visible each year from mid-July until the end of August. In 2024, it peaks around the night of Aug. 12 and before dawn on Aug.13, 2024.

© Getty Images

Activity -

It might be hard to believe, but most of the Perseids are around the same size as a grain of sand. They're tiny, but a typical Perseid meteorite hits the Earth's atmosphere at 133,200 mph (214,365 kph).

© Getty Images

Activity -

The meteors reach temperatures of more than 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,650 Celsius). They heat and compress the air in front of them as each fragment travels through the atmosphere.

© Shutterstock

Moonlight -

During this annual meteor show, if there is less moonlight in the skies during the peak viewing dates it's easier to see the Perseids in the sky.

© Getty Images

Noticeable for millennia -

The Perseids have fascinated people on Earth long before they were given their name. It's possible ancient Roman historians were writing about them way back in August of 30 CE.

© Getty Images

Noticeable for millennia -

They believed the "comet stars" they were seeing in the sky were tears due to the death of Queen Cleopatra. We can hazard a guess that what they were seeing was actually the Perseids.

© Getty Images

Noticeable for millennia -

The ancient Romans weren't alone. Seeing lights and trails in the sky was documented in Japan, Korea, and China. One Chinese record that potentially refers to the Perseids dates back to 36CE.

© Getty Images

The tears of St. Lawrence -

Later, Catholics would come to refer to the Perseid meteor shower as "the tears of St. Lawrence," whose feast day is August 10. 

© Getty Images

The tears of St. Lawrence -

The saint was burned alive in 258 CE. It's proposed the meteoroids are the tears of the saint who was martyred, which are usually suspended in the sky but return to Earth each year around his feast day.

© Getty Images

Collecting data -

Even if the earliest civilizations and beliefs seem primitive compared to our modern-day understanding of the cosmos, our ancestors collected a lot of valuable observational data about meteor showers.

© Getty Images

Pulling back the veil -

By the 1800s, scientists were beginning to dismiss earlier theories about the Perseids being related to the tears of saints or the wrath of the Gods.

© Getty Images

Pulling back the veil -

Instead, they began to believe they occurred due to volcanic matter returning to Earth after an eruption, or perhaps a kind of night-time rainbow or lightning happening in the sky.

© Getty Images

20th century findings -

In the 1970s, it was discovered that the number of Perseid meteors was increasing, which raised questions about whether the comet itself would make an appearance in our skies.

© Shutterstock

20th century findings -

One astronomer predicted it would return in 1992 and it did, however, its closest approach was miscalculated. 

© Shutterstock

The next passing -

Swift-Tuttle's next closest approach will occur in 3044, when it will come within 15 million miles of the Earth: a safe distance! 

© Shutterstock

Meteor-gazing tips -

The moon will be a 43%-lit waxing crescent, sinking into the southwestern horizon just before midnight in the Northern Hemisphere. This year, the peak of the viewing coincides with low moonlight in the sky, making visibility good. 

© Shutterstock

Meteor-gazing tips -

To get the views, camp somewhere dark and enjoy the show between 11pm and dawn the next morning. 

Sources: (NASA) (Space) (Forbes) (Science)

See also: Like 22 atomic bombs: The asteroid that will hit the Earth is called Bennu

© Getty Images