How to catch the Perseid meteor shower as it peaks this weekend

(WANE) – Nature’s fireworks will be flashing as they move through the sky — and you’ll be able to see them without a telescope.

This weekend (August 12-13) you’ll be able to watch the peak of the Perseid meteor showers, the so-called “fireworks finale,” which at times may produce roughly 90 meteors per hour, according to the EarthSky.org.

Since the moon will be in its waning stage, the meteors will be more visible in the darker sky between midnight and sunrise. Just look in the northeastern sky, where you’ll see the constellation called Perseus, which is below Cassiopeia.

For best viewing, NASA says to look during the pre-dawn hours, although meteors and fireballs could be visible as early as 10 p.m.

The Perseids are usually visible from the middle of July to the beginning of September but the number of meteors per hour will diminish each night for the rest of this month.

There are two more meteor showers currently happening: the Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capricornids.

The Delta Aquariids are not usually as impressive as the Perseids, and are more prominent in the southern tropics than the northern hemisphere. This shower peaked in late July and is expected to end around August 21.

The Alpha Capricornids also peaked in late July and will run through August 15. They are considered much weaker than the other showers listed above, with only about five meteors visible per hour, but according to the AMS, the shower can have some pretty impressive fireballs in lower quantities.

The shower can also be seen equally as well in the northern and southern hemispheres.