Perseid Meteor Shower 2016 Brings An Intense Show

The last time I saw a meteor shower was 20 years ago.  I had never seen anything like it. It was the end of summer, just before freshmen year of high school, and my best friend and I spent two nights in sleeping bags on the roof, gazing up at the sky and losing count of the celestial streaks. Now, all these years later, I get to set up camp, again, and stare in awe at the wonder of the cosmos.

*pushes glasses up bridge of nose*

Mark your calendars for August 11th and 12th, the prime dates this year to see an almost uncountable amount of meteors shooting across the sky, weather/visibility permitting. The 2016 show, according to Space.com is slated to be one of the most spectacular in memory:

According to NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke, the Perseids are perhaps the most popular meteor shower of the year. They will be in "outburst" in 2016, which means they'll appear at double the usual rates.

"This year, instead of seeing about 80 Perseids per hour, the rate could top 150 and even approach 200 meteors per hour," Cooke said. It's the first such outburst since 2009.

Here is a timelapse view of the when the Perseids passed overhead in 2012