The Perseid meteor shower is expected to give its best performances on the nights of 11 and 12 August.
The shower has been active since 13 July and will continue to the end of this month, but tonight and tomorrow night will bring the best displays in years, according to the International Meteor Organization.
It promises to be especially fine in southern Europe.
"This year, instead of seeing about 80 Perseids per hour, the rate could top 150 and even approach 200 meteors per hour," predicted NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke.
The shower comes in spurts through the night with some of the best predicted to be in the very early morning before dawn. Activity will be in the northeast.
In passing around the sun, planet Earth goes through dust left by the Swift-Tuttle comet. As the dust particles hit the Earth’s atmosphere and burn, they create bright lights which streak across the sky.
The event takes place every August, but this year the shower might turn into a storm.
The name Perseid comes from the constellation Perseus in the northeast sky. It is from the direction of this constellation that the comet dust seems to come.
