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How to see the 2024 Perseid meteor shower this WEEK from across the US
The best meteor shower of the summer kicked off this week, and astronomers expect it will be a great year to watch the celestial event.
The Perseid meteor shower started on Sunday and last into into September with August 12 being the best day to view the shooting stars.
Skygazers can expect to see between 100 and 150 shooting stars per hour, which will be visible across the US - but even more in an area without light pollution.
Perseid happens every year when Earth plows through debris left behind by the Swift-Tuttle comet during its trips through the inner solar system.
The Perseids (pictured from Slovenia) is considered the best meteor shower of the year. The pieces of space debris that interact with our atmosphere to create the meteor shower originate from the Swift-Tuttle comet
The Perseid meteor shower can be viewed with the naked eye in areas with clear skies, low light pollution, and an uninhibited view.
The best time to watch the shower is when the sky is at its darkest, between 11PM and dawn.
To locate the meteor shower, viewers should look for the Perseus constellation which is the 24th largest constellation in the sky.
The constellation is located in the northern region on the night sky.
There are apps to easily find the constellation including Night Sky and Sky Guide that reveals what the user is looking at by simply pointing the phone's camera at the sky.
Perseid meteors move at 133,200 miles per hour as they hit Earth's atmosphere and most become visible to viewers when they're about 60 miles from the surface.
The Perseid meteor shower originates from the Swift-Tuttle comet which measures 16 miles across and was first connected to the event by Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli in 1865.
Perseid's first meteors started flying across the night sky on Sunday, but astronomers say it is expected to peak on August 12 but will be active until September 1. The name Perseid comes from the constellation Perseus, which is visible in the Northern Hemisphere and parts of the Southern Hemisphere
Perseid meteors moves at 133,200 miles per hour as it hits Earth's atmosphere and most become visible to viewers when they're about 60 miles from the surface. Pictured: Perseid meteor seen over Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado in 2018
The meteors are seen when Earth passes through the debris of ice and rock that was left behind when the Swift-Tuttle comet came within 84,000 miles of the planet in 1992 - the comet orbits Earth once every 133 years.
'Most other comets are much smaller, with nuclei only a few kilometers across,' according to Bill Cooke, the head of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office.
'As a result, Comet Swift-Tuttle produces a large number of meteoroids, many of which are large enough to produce fireballs.'
Cooke recommended setting up to catch the fireballs someplace dark, away from city lights or light pollution in general.
'While fireballs can be seen from urban areas,' Cooke said, 'the much greater number of faint Perseids is visible only from the countryside.'
The name Perseid comes from the constellation Perseus, which is visible in the Northern Hemisphere and parts of the Southern Hemisphere.
'Perseus is a mythological Greek character,' Fiske Planetarium Manager Francisco Salas told Colorado University Boulder Today.
'Perseus is the one who killed Medusa. When he cut her head, that's how he was able to kill the sea monster. And you know what happens when you see Medusa's head? You transform into a rock.'
There have been other myths following Perseus which have found their way to be connected to the Perseid.
Like the Perseus constellation, the Perseid meteors are visible in all parts of the world, although they're best viewed in the Northern Hemisphere.