In North America, the best time to watch will be between midnight to 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 12. (North East)

It’s that time of the year to see something amazing in the sky. The peak of the Perseid meteor shower is Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. OMSI’s Jim Todd says you may see as many as 60 meteors per hour. They look like fast moving flashing points of light moving across the sky. The best time to watch is right after midnight. They’re caused by debris from a comet re-entering the earth's atmosphere.

Brian Emfinger photographed this Perseid meteor shower fireball, with a smoke trail, from Ozark, Arkansas just after midnight on
Sunday, July 26. Credit: Brian Emfinger, used with permission (more photos: http://www.realclearwx.com).
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/090811- … hower.htmlThe annual Perseid meteor shower is expected to put on a good show this week for those willing to get up in the wee hours of the morning and wait patiently for the shooting stars.
In North America, the best time to watch will be between midnight to 5 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 12, but late Tuesday night and also Wednesday night could prove fruitful, weather permitting.
The Perseids are always reliable, and sometimes rather spectacular. The only things that puts a damper on the August show are bad weather or bright moonlight. Unfortunately this week, as the Perseids reach their peak Tuesday and Wednesday nights, the moon will be high in the sky, outshining the fainter meteors.
Still, skywatchers around the globe will have a good chance of spotting the brighter meteors. Some already are enjoying the show.

Perseid meteors emanate from the constellation Perseus, which rises above the horizon in late evening
this time of year (shown on this map) and is high overhead during the predawn hours. The meteors
can began anywhere in the sky, but a line along their path will trace back to Perseus.