Anyone gazing at the summer night sky for even a short length of time is likely to spot a few "shooting stars" darting across the sky. In general, the Earth encounters richer meteoric activity during the second half of the year.

And you're more likely to see twice as many meteors per hour in the predawn hours as compared to the evening hours. This is due to the fact that during the pre-midnight hours we are on the "trailing" side of the Earth, in relation to our orbital motion through space. So any meteoric particle generally must have an orbital velocity greater than that of the Earth to "catch" us.

However, after midnight when we are turned onto the Earth's "leading" side, any particle that lies along the Earth's orbital path will enter our atmosphere as a meteor.

As these tiny objects collide with our atmosphere at speeds of 7 to 45 miles per second, their energy of motion rapidly dissipates in the form of heat, light, and ionization, creating short-lived streaks of light popularly referred to as "shooting stars."

The best meteor display of the summer comes during the second week of August: the annual Perseid shower which, at its peak around the nights of August 11 and 12, is capable of producing 50 to 100 fast, bright meteors per hour. The first forerunners of Perseid activity begin to appear during the third week of July, while the last stragglers may still be spotted into the third week of August. [SPACE.com will provide a Perseid Viewer's Guide on Aug. 1.]

To go along with the Perseids, however, there are at least ten other minor meteor displays that are active at various times during July and August.

While the hourly rates from these other meteor streams are but a fraction of the numbers produced by the Perseids, overall they provide a wide variety of meteors of differing colors, speeds and trajectories.

Among these are the Southern Delta Aquarids, which can produce faint, medium speed meteors; the Alpha Capricornids, described as slow, bright, long trailed meteors and the Kappa Cygnids which are classified as "slow moving and sometimes brilliant."

Summertime meteors, occasionally flitting across your line of sight, are especially noticeable between mid-July and the third week of August. And between August 3 and 15, there are no fewer than six different minor displays that are active.

The only equipment you'll need is your eyes and a modest amount of patience. As one long-time meteor enthusiast once noted: "Meteor observing is relaxing and enjoyable, potentially dramatic and just plain fun!"