The Perseid meteor shower is scheduled to peak on the night of August the 12th, and carry over into the wee hours of the morning on the 13th. Caused by debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle, which glides by Earth every 133 years, the huge comet swings through the inner solar system and leaves behind a trail of dust and gravel. When Earth passes through the debris, specks of comet-stuff hit the atmosphere at 140,000 mph and disintegrate in flashes of light. These meteors are called Perseids because they fly out of the constellation Perseus.

Swift-Tuttle's debris zone is so wide, Earth spends weeks inside it. We are in the outskirts now, and sky watchers are already reporting a trickle of late-night Perseids. The trickle could turn into a torrent between August 11th and 13th when Earth passes through the heart of the debris trail.

2010 is a good year for Perseids because the Moon won't be up during the midnight-to-dawn hours of greatest activity. Lunar glare can wipe out a good meteor shower, but that won't be the case this time.

As Perseus rises and the night deepens, meteor rates will increase. The best time to look is during the darkest hours before dawn on Friday morning, Aug. 13th, when most observers will see dozens of Perseids per hour. 

It's going to be tough staying up for this one, since it falls during the weeknight. But is the skies are clear, I plan on being out there attempting to capture an image of one of these fleet-footed visitors.

The following image shows the portion of the sky where observers will need to look. Get out if you can and enjoy the show.

Image credit :  Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA