The peak of this year's Perseid meteor shower is just around the corner, forecasted during the overnight hours of August 12 and 13 in the absence of any or much moonlight.
Perseids originate in Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1862 by Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle. This is a large comet with estimated size of nucleus about 26 km (16 miles).
This is one of the most plentiful showers, with 50 - 100 shooting stars seen per hour, visible from all over the northern hemisphere.
This meteor shower is known for its very fast and bright meteors which leave long wakes of light and color as they streak through the atmosphere. Fireballs, larger explosions of light and color that can persist longer than an average meteor streak, are also associated with this shower and you can expect an increase in fireball events around its peak.
