Perseid meteor shower to peak overnight

MELBOURNE, Fla., Aug. 12 (UPI) -- The annual Perseid meteor shower, one of the most well-known and reliable meteor showers, will peak Friday night and into early Saturday, U.S. astronomers say.

The Perseid shower is a yearly event as Earth passes through a stream of dust particles and debris from the Comet Swift-Tuttle, SPACE.com reported.

The glare of a nearly full moon overnight may mean some meteors will go unnoticed, but the Perseid shower generally produces a number of fast, bright meteors that will be visible even in the bright moonlight, Florida Today said.

The best time for viewing will be in the pre-dawn hours when the radiant, or origin point, of the shower in the constellation Perseus will be high and the moon will be low in the west, astronomers said.

The best viewing will be under dark country skies, which will help eliminate city light pollution.