A celestial fireworks show peaks Monday and Tuesday as Earth passes though the dust of a comet 's tail . Humans around the world have witnessed the Perseid meteor shower every August for at least 2,000 years , with dozens of meteors streaking across the sky each hour . Your view is best after midnight until just before sunrise . Get away from city lights , if possible , for the full effect . A waning crescent moon means less light in the sky to compete with the meteor display . Next year 's show will be dimmed by a full moon . The annual sky spectacular happens when our planet 's orbit around the sun passes near Comet Swift-Tuttle 's path , which goes by every 130 years . The last close encounter with the comet was 20 years ago , but it left grains of dust in its wake . The bright streaks you see are `` interplanetary dust '' burning up as it collides with our atmosphere at about 133,000 mph , according to NASA micrometeoroid expert Diego Janches . `` The fragments are either remnants from the solar system 's formation , or they are produced by collisions between asteroids or comets from long ago . '' `` Each such fragment is approximately the size of a dime , but the more constant , sporadic meteoroids have been around much longer , breaking down over time into tiny fragments only about as wide as a piece of human hair , '' according to NASA.gov . While the meteor show is entertainment for most , it is a research opportunity for Janches and other NASA scientists . They 'll use radar systems around the globe to watch the fragments of sodium , silicon , calcium and magnesium enter the atmosphere . `` The small meteoroids feed the atmosphere with all these extra materials , '' Janches said in a NASA.com posting . `` They come in , release metallic atoms that get deposited in the mesosphere and then get pushed around from pole to pole by the general global circulation . So by using the metals as tracers , you can answer some important questions about the general composition and movement of the atmosphere . ''
The best view of the Perseid meteor shower is after sunset until just before sunrise . The annual sky show happens when Earth passes near Comet Swift - Tuttle 's tail . Bright streaks are ` ` ' dust '' burning up as it mixes with our atmosphere . The meteor shower is entertainment for most , but a second chance for NASA .