Up to 100 meteors per hour can fall at a shower's peak, while, the Estonian Astronomical Society writes, potential meteor spotters should stay awake into the small hours, as showers become even more visible as dawn approaches.

Peak night is tonight, August 12, though visibility has been hampered by the no less spectacular sturgeon moon, which was full on August 9 and is now waning.
Later in the week, for instance the night of August 15–16, will also reportedly be a good night for viewing, with the advantage of it falling on the weekend.

Associate Professor and astrophysicist Laurits Leedjärv of the University of Tartu Observatory said the annual meteor shower, known as the Perseids, reaches its peak on August 12.

The high-speed characteristics are the result of the Swift-Tuttle comet orbiting the Sun in a direction counter to the Earth's orbit, leading to a combined speed of 59 kilometers per second, and while most meteors are actually only dust- or sand-grain-sized particles coming from the Swift-Tuttle comet's tail, larger particles can result in the sight where the shooting star's tail lingers for a longer time.

The Astronomical Society's annual gathering coincides with the Perseids meteor shower which, Leedjärv said, "has nothing to do with stars beyond the name: Perseids are so called because the meteors appear to come from the direction of the constellation Perseus."

The annual festival takes place August 14–17 at the Udu farm in Jõgeva County, with popular science lectures, specialist workshops, and sports activities for adults and youngsters alike all on the itinerary.

As for a good view of the Swift-Tuttle comet itself, we will have a little longer to wait: The comet's orbit of the Sun lasts 133 years, and since it was last at its closest point to Earth in 1992, there is another 101 years to go.

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