One of the best meteor showers of the year is peaking next week, and it could be amazing.
The annual Perseid meteor shower is set to hit its peak during the wee hours of Thursday morning, and the "shooting stars" could come fast and furious. Some estimates predict that people in dark, light pollution-free parts of the world could see as many as 100 meteors per hour during the height of the shower.
"Try to view the Perseids as far away from artificial lights as possible," NASA meteor expertBill Cooke wrote in a blog post.
"The darker the sky, the better viewing experience you can have. Lie on the ground and look straight up."
Meteor watching this year could be particularly great because the peak of the Perseids also aligns with the new moon, allowing for a dark sky where even faint meteors can be seen.
It's even possible that the meteor shower could produce an "outburst" of activity this year, according to at least one astronomer.
“The French astronomer Jeremie Vaubaillon has also predicted that the Perseids may this year produce an outburst of activity around 7:40pm BST [2:40 p.m. ET] on 12 August," Mark Bailey, Director of Armagh Observatory, said in a statement.
"Although it is unfortunately still daylight at that time in the UK and Ireland, it is just possible that enhanced rates may persist for a few hours around this time and so be observable soon after dark.”
"Shooting stars" are actually bits of ice and dust that burn up as the come streaming through Earth's atmosphere. Meteors can be bright or faint, with some of the most brilliant fireballs streaking across the sky for a second or more.
The Perseids have actually been seen from Earth's surface for at least 2,000 years, NASA said.
The shower happens every year around this time when Earth passes through the cloud of debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle as it makes a full orbit of the sun every 133 years.
Even if you aren't able to watch the Perseid meteor shower from your own back yard, you can check it out online with a NASA webcast.