The Perseids are here. Here’s how to see the ‘fireballs’ of summer’s brightest meteor shower

WASHINGTON (news agencies) — The Perseids are back to dazzle the sky with bursts of light and color.

More than 50 meteors per hour are expected, according to the American Meteor Society. The shower lasts through Sept. 1.

Here’s what to know about the Perseids and other meteor showers.

Multiple meteor showers occur annually and you don’t need special equipment to see them.

Most meteor showers originate from the debris of comets. The source of the Perseids is the comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle.

When rocks from space enter Earth’s atmosphere, the resistance from the air makes them very hot. This causes the air to glow around them and briefly leaves a fiery tail behind them — the end of a “shooting star.”

The glowing pockets of air around fast-moving space rocks, ranging from the size of a dust particle to a boulder, may be visible in the night sky.

The Perseids result from “bigger particles than a lot of other showers,” said NASA’s Bill Cooke, giving them the appearance of “bright fireballs” — easier to spot than many others.