The Perseid meteor shower peaks this weekend. Here's how to watch

In this 30 second exposure, a meteor streaks across the sky during the annual Perseid meteor shower, Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021, in Spruce Knob, West Virginia. (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Get ready for some shooting stars — this weekend is the peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower, the beloved astronomical event that sends bright streaks of light streaming across the night sky.

This year’s show should be a good one, “mainly because the moon isn’t going to interfere,” says Michelle Nichols, director of public observing with the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. “We can have different reasons why a meteor shower may be better one year versus the next, and a lot of times it’s the phase of the moon.”

Because the waning crescent moon will be just a little sliver that rises late, the sky will be dark, creating the ideal backdrop for the meteor shower’s celestial fireworks.