Shooting stars are expected, peaking this year on August 12th.

The Perseid meteor shower has been active for about three weeks and is giving its best these nights, but to fully enjoy the show we'll have to wait a little longer.

This year, the peak is expected slightly later, on August 12th, when the sky could be crossed by up to 100 light trails per hour. Furthermore, the moon's light is interfering with observations: yesterday it was full, but things will gradually improve over the next few nights.

The Perseids are small specks of dust and ice left in space by a comet called Swift Tuttle. Every year around this time, the Earth orbits the Sun and passes through them, burning up in the atmosphere, turning into shooting stars. To observe them, look northeast, toward the constellation Perseus, which gives them their name, starting in the late evening. It's essential, of course, to look for dark skies with little light pollution. Streetlights illuminate cities, but unfortunately, as we all know, they hide the stars. Even the shooting stars.