The Perseid Meteor shower has some added bonuses this year: it will occur on a night when the moon is in its waning crescent phase, which means the moonlight won't interfere with your view of the dashing meteors, according to Astronomy.com. And it's on a Saturday night, which means people can stay up late and sleep in the next day

You don't even need a telescope. Just spread out a blanket, maybe a late-night picnic, kick back and enjoy! Although one time when I had a very limited view, blocked by lots of trees, I pointed a pair of binoculars at the gap up above. When a meteor raced across my view it was quite the sight. It wasn't just a light streaking across the sky, I could see the fiery passage of this speck of space debris. I'll bet I never get that kind of view again!

Perseid Meteor Trivia:

• These meteors travel 37 miles per second!
• The best time to view will be 2 a.m. on Sunday.
• The weather in Alpharetta, so far, is predicting partly cloudy skies and a 20 percent chance of thunderstorms. It's not ideal conditions, but better than earlier in the week so it should be worth heading outside.
• The Perseid Meteors are cast-offs of the Swift-Tuttle comet, according to Space.com.
• The shower began July 23, and will peak on Saturday night. 
• Look toward the Perseus constellation, which forms an inverted "Y" shape and is in the northeast.
• Some of the meteroids are as small as a grain of sand, but they have the kinetic energy of a nuclear bomb!
• If you see a very slow, bright object sailing across the sky, it's either a satellite or a Space Station.   

Where to view:

• You don't need a telescope to view this celestial event, so just head out to a dark spot.

Will you be watching the Perseid Meteor shower? If so, tell us why in comments and if you snap a photo, e-mail it to Bob Pepalis or upload it to the Patch Pics and Clips page.