It's almost time for one of the best nighttime celestial shows of the year — the Perseid meteor shower, a spectacular array of shooting stars that is expected to peak late Thursday night and early Friday morning (Aug. 11 and 12). Astronomers have predicted an "outburst" of the annual August Perseid meteor shower this year, which means that you could see double the usual number of meteors, up to 200 per hour, or three a minute, NASA says. The Perseus constellation appears in the night sky at about 10 p.m. local time, but most meteors will be visible after midnight, according to Space.com, Live Science's sister site. @RachelFrank_CT @yourtake @JimCantore #perseids pic.twitter.com/nomjFTOmKR — @Grahampoo 
 
 Find somewhere dark with a view of as much of the sky as possible. If you can, get away from urban lights (although you should be able to see some of the brightest Perseids even in the city.) Ideally, you'll want to lie down in an open area such as a park or field, as the meteors will streak across the entire sky and you don't want your view blocked by trees or buildings. "All you've got to do is go outside, find a nice dark spot, lie flat on your back and look up," Cooke told Live Science. Give your eyes about 30 to 40 minutes to get used to the dark, night sky. The Perseids will also be visible on Friday night and Saturday morning (Aug. 13), but there will be fewer meteors than there are expected to be the night before, he added. On a typical night, people might see about 5 meteors per hour, which is much lower than the 80 to 100 meteors per hour people usually see when the Perseids peak. In this case, as the Earth crosses floating debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle’s previous passes, we witness the Perseid meteor shower, named after the Perseus constellation that appears to be the point of origin for the light show. The tiny pieces of debris burn up when they enter Earth's atmosphere, leaving behind streaks of light known as meteors, or shooting stars, according to NASA. pic.twitter.com/mwVYt0FiXW — @NASA_Marshall 
 
 Normally, the Earth only catches the edge of Swift-Tuttle's trail, but about once a decade, Jupiter's and Saturn's gravity gives the trails a tug so that Earth ends up passing through areas where the dust trail is thicker.
– Never watched the Perseid meteor shower? This is the year to do it. Though Earth spins through the same ancient comet debris each August, Jupiter's gravity has pulled debris closer to Earth this year, meaning Earthlings will witness twice as many shooting stars as normal, or about 160 to 200 meteors per hour, reports NPR. The last time we had a meteor shower with so many meteors, known as an "outburst," was in 2009 and the next one isn't expected until 2027. How best to tune in to "the greatest fireworks show of your life," per Quartz? Simply head outside between midnight and dawn—after 3am local time is ideal—"find a nice dark spot, lie flat on your back and look up," NASA's Bill Cooke tells Live Science. And be patient. Your eyes may need 30 to 40 minutes to adjust to the dark before the meteors actually become visible, Cooke says. Avoid binoculars and telescopes, which narrow your field of view, and get away from the bright lights of cities, he adds. If you can't—or if it’s cloudy—a live stream will be available here. You can also tune your radio to a bunch of static and listen to bursts of music as "signals from distant FM stations, not normally receivable, bounce off meteor trails," an astronomer tells the CBC. Meteors will also be visible Friday night into Saturday morning, but the encore won't be nearly as impressive as Thursday's show.