Perseid meteor shower: A picturesque night for star gazers in India

It is going to be a picturesque night for enthusiastic star gazers in India, as the country is set to witness the annual Perseid Meteor Shower that reaches its peak on the night of August 12 through the morning of August 13.

It is said to be one of the most breathtaking showstoppers with up to 100 shooting stars every hour. Year 1993, witnessed the best Perseid performance with a shower of 300 meteors per hour.

The Perseid meteor shower is named after the Perseus constellation, which is the point from which they appear to come from in the night sky, the Perseids are pieces of debris from the tail of Comet Swift-Tuttle. As these chunks of celestial rock fall from space through the Earth's atmosphere, they appear as bright streaks of light zipping across the sky.

Read more: How and where to See the 2017 Perseid Meteor Shower

"The best time to view Perseids Meteor Shower, the brightest constellation shower, from India on August 12 and 13 is from midnight to dawn", Space India, the Delhi-based Science Popularisation Association of Communicators and Educators, said in a statement.

"The shower is visible pan India in the sky towards north, although clouds and bad weather conditions are likely to affect the visibility at a few places", the statement further added.