This weekend marks the annual return of the Tears of Saint Lawrence: better known to those of us in the amateur astronomy community as the Perseid Meteor shower. If you haven’t trekked out somewhere dark recently to gaze at the annual shower, try reading Sky and Telescope magazine’s coverage.

The sky will be moonless, so the view should be pretty good. Rates often hit one a minute. I’ve seen some amazing fireballs in the predawn hours of this shower, so get out and have a peek at one of the cool sights available from our small terrestrial vantage point.