WASHINGTON, USA — One of the most anticipated meteor showers of the year will peak overnight on Tuesday. 

Will we be able to see it in western Washington? 

Weather-wise, things are looking positive, but another celestial event may dampen the effect. 

Skies are predicted to be clear, and conditions are optimally pleasant for skywatching. Overnight temperatures are only supposed to dip into the low 60s overnight before beginning to warm back up. 

The Perseid Meteor Shower peaks Aug. 12-13. According to NASA, about 25 to 75 meteors are likely, and up to 100 are possible. Make sure to move away from city lights, try to have a wide view of the sky, and give your eyes plenty of time to adjust. 

The best viewing of meteor showers is usually after midnight. Unfortunately, this year, the just-past full moon rises between 9-11 p.m. most of this week, getting gradually later each night. This will seriously interfere with seeing many of the dimmer meteors. 

Fortunately, the shower will be visible through Aug. 23, just not as bright. 

According to NASA, meteors are leftover comet particles from bits of broken asteroids. Comets come around the sun and leave dusty trails in their wake. The Earth then passes through the debris trails that collide with and disintegrate in our atmosphere. 

The Perseid meteor shower in particular, is comprised of space debris from comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle. Swift-Tuttle takes over 133 years to orbit the sun. NASA notes the Perseid meteors can leave long trails of light and color behind them as they burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.