This weekend is one that skywatchers have been waiting for all year now, because from August 11th to 13th, the Perseid meteor shower will be reaching its peak!

Regardless of which night you choose to go out to see this, the best time to watch the show is going to be starting around midnight (no matter what time zone you're in). That's when the constellation Perseus will in the eastern sky and the Moon will have already set in the west. However, even though the meteors appear to radiate out from Perseus, you don't actually need to look out for that constellation. The best way to watch is to just look straight up.

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The peak, from the 11th to the 13th, are the best nights to watch, of course, but the Perseids go on for longer than just those three nights. Earth actually slipped into the stream of debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle in mid-July, and after the peak we'll still be in the stream until around August 24th. So, you can stay out late any night this weekend and still have a great chance to see meteors. It's just that during the peak we'll see the greatest number of meteors per hour — projected to be around 100 per hour, with 50-60 visible to use under a clear, dark sky.

As always, there are some tips to get the best show out of the event:

• Check your local weather report for cloud conditions. You can use the Clear Sky Chart, too. Find the chart for your location (or as close as possible), and then follow the guide.

• Find somewhere dark, preferably away from large cities, so that you're as far away from light pollution as you can get. There's another good site for that, the Dark Sky Finder. Even if you can't get too far away, just try to pick a spot where there aren't any bright lights in your line of sight.

• Give yourself some time for your eyes to adjust to the dark. It varies from person to person, but it typically takes about 20 to 30 minutes for your eyes to completely adjust.

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Another great thing about the Perseids is that, according to a recent study by NASA, this meteor shower generates the greatest number of fireballs of any shower we see all year!

So, not only is this the best meteor shower, just from the actual number you can see streaking by, it also gives you the best chance to spot an incredibly bright one! Be sure to check it out!

(Photo courtesy: Reuters)

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