Astronomers are promising an exciting celestial light show as the annual Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak this weekend.

Prime viewing conditions are expected because of the new moon. Last year's event disappointed some because it took place just a few days after a full moon, which gave off a little too much ambient light.

This year, the meteor shower will light up the skies late Sunday and be at its brightest early Monday from 1 a.m. until 4 a.m. ET, when sky watchers could see 60 to 90 streaks of light per hour, said U.S. astronomer Tom Van Flandern.

The meteor shower is basically confined to the Northern Hemisphere. The fireballs can barely be seen above the horizon in countries like Australia and New Zealand.

Get away from light pollution for best views

In addition, observers won't want to be north of 60 degrees latitude because of the effects of the midnight sun in summer.

Perseids can appear anywhere in a darkened sky, although it's suggested that enthusiasts look to the northeast, not far from where Mars is twinkling like a bright red star.

If you can see the Milky Way, it's likely dark enough to see the burning comet debris. The Perseid meteor shower is named after Perseus, the constellation from which it first appeared to have come.

The meteor shower can best be viewed with the naked eye, away from urban light pollution; binoculars and telescopes restrict the field of vision. Clear skies are also essential for observing meteors.

Summer shower should be a storm in 20 years

Perseids, which look like shooting or falling stars, appear every August as Earth passes close to the Swift-Tuttle comet. Debris from the comet's tail enters Earth's atmosphere and the rocks give off light as they burn up.

"The tail is drifting closer to Earth every year," said Van Flandern, who, in 1999, helped find a way of predicting meteor storms. "There's a good chance it'll turn into a storm in 2028."

A meteor shower is dust or debris from the comet's tail, while a storm is the tail itself dipping into the Earth's atmosphere. A storm can create more than 1,000 streaks of light per hour.

Meantime, the Leonid trail that shows up every November with the orbit of the comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle is moving away from our planet.

During one of its most intense storms in 1966, there were 40 streaks per second. People looking skyward "had the sensation of racing through space," Van Flandern told CBC.ca.