The Perseids meteor shower is an annual event, which happens when the debris trail from Comet Swift-Tuttle encounters the Earth.

The Perseids are active from July 13 to Aug. 26, according to the American Meteor Society, a nonprofit scientific organization that supports the research of astronomers, but the meteor shower peaks between Aug. 12-13. The show will air from 9 p.m. CDT Wednesday night until 1 a.m. CDT Thursday morning. Arguably the most popular and dependable display of shooting stars, the Perseids are expected to be even more spectacular this year because there won’t be any moonlight to tiresome the show.

The Perseid shower will peak tonight and, with some luck, dozens of meteors will illuminate the night sky over the Northern Hemisphere. During peak, meteor rates get as high as 100 per hour.

As a general rule, the Perseid meteors tend to be few and far between at nightfall and early evening and the best time to look is just prior to dawn. The best thing about this spectacle is that viewers will not need a telescope to view it.

“Those particles, as they hit our atmosphere… they burn up and create these streaks of light that we seen in the night sky”, explains Targen.

Mendillo said people in the Boston area should find the darkest place possible where they have an unobstructed view of the northeastern sky.

Cameras and bioculars won’t do much good for seeing meteor showers.

The Perseid meteor shower occurs when Earth passes through the debris left by comet Swift-Tuttle.

Prof Bailey predicted the Perseids would this year produce an outburst of activity around 7.40pm BST on August 12, while it was still light, but the stars could be seen long after dark.

The broadcast of the Perseid meteor shower will come from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.