One of the best-known meteor showers of the year will shoot intense streaks of light across the night sky beginning after 9 p.m. Monday. And those who can stay up for its peak performance are in for quite a show.

The Perseid meteor shower, which is caused by meteoroids crashing and burning high in Earth’s upper atmosphere, will produce the greatest activity after 2 a.m. Tuesday. The show will continue into the early morning hours with the rate of meteors eventually reaching one to two meteors every minute.

Central Michigan University astronomer Christopher Tycner is available to comment on the origin of this annual meteor shower and how it can best be observed.

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