Editor's note: Come back to this post for a live feed of the shower from the Slooh Space Camera starting at 7 p.m. Eastern Time.

The Perseid meteor shower is the champion of all such events. Appearing in balmy weather suitable for the most casual stargazer, the meteors dazzle the sky with an average of 100 meteors per hour during their peak. That peak happens to be tonight.

This year, however, the Perseids have their work cut out for them. Not only is their peak on a weeknight, they’ll be competing against a “mega-moon” that is both bigger and brighter than average. This is because the moon is at its perigee, the point in its orbit when it is closest to the Earth. It will be about 30 percent brighter and 14 percent bigger than when it is at the farthest point of its orbit, the apogee. Mega-moons happen about every 13 months and 18 days, so the next time this will coincide with the Perseid shower will be 2018.

The extra bright moon will lighten the celestial backdrop, but shouldn’t diminish the brilliance of the Perseids too much. Earthly lights are a bigger problem, so get away from the city if you want the best views.

The meteors are called Perseids because they appear to originate from the Perseus constellation, a relatively dim cluster of stars that is found to the southeast of the bright, W-shaped Casseopeia. The shower is caused when leftover debris from a comet, Swift-Tuttle, hits our atmosphere at about 124,000 miles per hour.

The best time to watch will be between 10:30 p.m. and 4:30 a.m, local time. But if you don't have a good view of the sky due to clouds or city lights, catch a live feed of the meteor shower here starting at 7 p.m. Eastern Time.