The strongest meteor shower of the year is about to peak. Here’s how to watch

Visible annually from mid-July to September 1, the Perseid meteor shower is set to peak between Sunday and before dawn Monday. NASA shares some tips for viewing the Perseids.

It’s that time of summer to watch the most anticipated meteor shower of the year: the dazzling display known as the Perseids.

Streams of light and colour will travel across the sky while explosions of fireballs linger, leaving behind even brighter streaks than the meteor trails from the Perseids passing through the atmosphere.

Visible annually from mid-July to Sept. 1, the Perseid meteor shower is set to peak between Sunday and before dawn Monday. Up to 100 meteors are expected per hour, moving at a speed of 133,200 miles per hour (214,365 kilometres per hour).

Bill Cooke, head of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office, described the Perseids as the richest meteor shower of the year because of the bright fireballs. It’s “the closest thing each year to a celestial fireworks display,” Cooke said.

Unusually bright meteors, fireballs can surpass one meter (3.3 feet) in diameter and are brighter than Venus — according to NASA and Cooke. Venus is one of the most luminous objects in the night sky.

These fireballs are “brighter than any star or planet in the sky,” said Robert Lunsford, the fireball report coordinator for the American Meteor Society. Like human-made fireworks, fireballs “tend to leave persistent streaks in the sky that will look like smoke and slowly dissipate over a few seconds after the meteor has gone,” Lunsford said.

This year is optimal for watching the shower because moonlight conditions will not wash out faint meteors, allowing viewers to observe both bright and dim ones, Cooke said. “Get in the entire shower this year,” he said, pointing out that last year’s moonlight conditions “kind of shut down the show” and obscured dim meteors.