A Perseid meteor streaks across the sky over Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China on August 14, 2023. (Source: Getty Images)

People can observe this phenomenon all night, especially after midnight, however, the most ideal time is after 2am on August 12-13, because this is the time when the constellation Perseus has risen high enough.

Chairman of the Vietnam Astronomy and Cosmology Association Dang Vu Tuan Son said that the Perseids meteor shower is a phenomenon that occurs every August, with its peak falling around the night of August 12 and the early morning of August 13.

The meteors are debris left behind as comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle makes its way toward the Sun. The last time the comet crossed Earth's orbit was in 1992, and the next time it will do so is in 2026.

For many years, the Perseids have been a notable phenomenon for night sky watchers, one of the two biggest meteor showers of the year along with the Geminids.

Eight years ago, in August 2016, the Perseids had a meteor shower with a huge number of observations. In 2024, there will be no shower, but it will still be a very remarkable phenomenon.

The peak time coincides with the time when the Moon has just passed its crescent phase, so the light will somewhat hinder observation, but viewers can still see many meteors if the weather is favorable and the observing conditions are good.

On peak night, with favorable viewing angles and ideal weather, viewers can observe 60-100 meteors per hour.

Mr. Dang Vu Tuan Son commented that the most suitable time to observe the meteor shower is the nights near its peak. For the Perseids meteor shower, that time is the early morning of August 12, 13 and 14.

Viewers should look to the northeast sky and find the constellation Perseus. This constellation may not be easy to identify for those with little experience, so the simplest way is for viewers to simply look up to the northeast sky at an angle of 30-50 degrees from the ground under ideal viewing conditions.

In case of cloudy or rainy weather, meteors will not be visible.

If we can see a lot of stars in the sky, it means we can definitely see a shooting star. Observers do not need binoculars or telescopes or any other tools, looking with the naked eye is the best way to observe.

Even at peak and under ideal viewing conditions, the time between meteors can range from a few seconds to several minutes. Areas with heavy lighting or construction smoke will be more difficult to see.

If we want to take a picture of any meteor, we need a camera with exposure mode, set the exposure time to at least 30 seconds...