Popular Perseid meteor shower to reach peak mid-August. Here's what to know

Grab a blanket, a friend, and prepare to be a little sleep deprived –– the Perseid meteor shower is active and will reach its peak in mid-August.

The Perseid meteor shower, widely known as one of the biggest meteor showers each year, is active from July 14 to Sept. 1, and peaks Friday and Saturday.

What is a meteor?

A meteor, also referred to as a shooting or falling star, is a streak of light caused by meteoroids entering the Earth’s atmosphere, according to National Geographic.

A meteoroid is often composed of space rocks and iron and is caused by asteroid collisions and comets. Upon entering the Earth’s atmosphere, meteoroids heat up which causes surrounding gases to glow, creating a meteor.

Meteors were given the nickname shooting stars due to their bright, vibrant tail as they fly through the sky. Meteors typically occur in the mesosphere, which is around 30 to 50 miles from Earth’s surface.

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What is a meteor shower?

Meteor showers are heightened periods of activity where multiple meteors are visible from one point in the sky, according to the American Meteor Society.

When the Earth passes through regions with high levels of interplanetary debris from comets or asteroids, showers are likely. They often appear during a particular time of the year from the same point in the sky.

What is the Perseid meteor shower?

The Perseids, one of the most beloved meteor showers by stargazers across the world, begins in mid-July and often concludes near the end of August. It often reaches its peak in mid-August, with 50 to 100 meteors visible per hour.

The particular comet that sparks the Perseid shower is the Swift-Tuttle comet. Swift-Tuttle takes 133 years to orbit the sun, according to NASA, and it last entered our solar system in 1992.

The Perseids are named after the constellation Perseus, the point in the sky where it looks like the meteors are shooting from.

When is the best time to see the Perseids?

During its peak Friday and Saturday, the Perseid meteor shower is visible throughout the night, but there are times better for viewing than others.

This year, only 10 percent of the moon will be illuminated, making it a good opportunity to see the shower.

Shannon Murphy, instructional support and outreach coordinator for the University of Michigan Department of Astronomy, said meteors are best visible in evenings and early mornings.

“For us here in Michigan, the spot where the meteors appear to come from is almost always above the horizon,” Murphy said. “As long as it's dark, you can potentially see it. It's not really full dark in Michigan until like 10:30-11, so we’ve got to wait until it’s really dark.”

And, as the night progresses, they’ll get higher and higher above the horizon. Experienced observers say 3-4 a.m. is the ideal viewing time.

“The closer you are to dawn, the more meteors you’ll see, but only until it starts getting light,” Murphy said.

As with most watchable space events that take place during the nighttime, it’s best to go somewhere with good visibility and minimal light pollution –– so getting out of the city is probably your best bet.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Popular meteor shower, Perseids, reaches peak in mid-August