Peak viewing time for North America should be late evening on Thursday through early morning Friday, said Laurel Ladwig, manager of the Burke Baker Planetarium at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

"Just point your lawn chair toward the northeast and watch," she said. "If you can, get away from the city lights and youll see more."

Viewing might be better this year because the peak shower happens in dark skies, just one day after a new moon.

The meteors should be visible once the sun has set and the constellation Perseus is above the horizon. During early morning hours, the sky is pointed at the at the comets debris stream and should provide the best viewing.

Binoculars and telescopes are not necessary and observers should look northeast though meteors may appear in any part of the sky.

Ladwig said it might be possible to see the showers through the weekend.

Though the Perseids are some of the most consistent meteor shower shows, Ladwig said no astronomer could guarantee what would be seen.

Recent Leonid meteor showers have been disappointing, she said.

Most meteor showers are caused by comet debris and the Perseids were also the first meteors associated with a particular comet.

Italian astronomer Giovani Virginio Schiaparelli calculated the orbits of some of the Perseids meteoroids and determined they came from the comet Swift-Tuttle.

Schiaparelli is best known for describing the dark lines on Mars as "canali" or channels.

If the Perseids provide a good show this year, viewers should be able to see the meteors blazing across the sky with bright trails following.

NASA plans to launch a balloon early on Thursday from Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama to study the meteorites.