KUALA LUMPUR: From this month until Aug 24, Malaysians will have the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the Perseids Meteor Shower, also known as the Perseids, in some parts of the country's skies.
Planetarium Negara, in an Instagram post, stated that the Perseids meteor shower is expected to peak from 9pm on Aug 12 until early morning the following day.
It added that the phenomenon can be observed at an average of 100 meteors per hour, or about two meteors per minute, during the peak of the display.
"For those who want to observe this meteor shower, it is advisable to go to a dark area away from light pollution," it said.
Named after the constellation Perseus, the Perseids occur every year as the Earth orbits the Sun and crosses space debris left by Comet Swift-Tuttle.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) described the Perseids as one of the most plentiful meteor showers and notes that they are also known for their fireballs.
"Fireballs are larger explosions of light and color that can last longer than an average meteor streak. This is because fireballs originate from larger particles of cometary material."