Night sky spectacle: Perseid meteor shower peaks with 100 meteors per hour

The sky will be lit up by falling stars from Monday to Tuesday. Astronomers are expecting the peak of the Perseid meteor shower. If the weather permits, up to a hundred meteors per hour will be visible.

"Falling stars," otherwise known as meteors, are light phenomena that occur when a rocky fragment from space, known as a meteoroid, enters the Earth's atmosphere. Most of them burn up in the atmosphere, and only the largest ones reach the ground, becoming meteorites.

This phenomenon occurs throughout the year, but one of the most spectacular is the Perseid meteor shower, active from July 17 to August 24, with its peak on the night of August 12 to August 13. According to the American Astronomical Society, this year's peak activity is expected on August 12, around 10 AM Eastern Time.

The Perseids have been observed since ancient times and are characterized by a speed of about 37 miles per second. Usually, they come in groups of 6-15 meteors within 2-3 minutes. Theoretically, it is possible to see up to 100 meteors per hour under ideal conditions.

The source of the Perseids is the comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, which approaches Earth every 133 years. It was discovered in 1862.

No tools like binoculars or telescopes are needed to observe the meteor shower; you only need a place with a good view of the sky. The darker the surroundings, the more meteors you will see, so if you can't get out of the city, it’s worth finding an area where streetlights do not shine in your eyes.