<p><strong>A shooting star from the <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/08/090812-perseids-perseid-meteor-shower.html">Perseid meteor shower</a> streaks above rock formations in Hungary Wednesday. The Perseids<a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/08/090812-perseids-perseid-meteor-shower.html"> </a>peak this weekend, and thanks to relatively dark skies, the 2012 edition of the annual sky show should be well suited to naked-eye stargazing. (See <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/08/120810-perseid-meteor-shower-perseids-science-space-astronomy/">"Perseid Meteor Shower—And Moon Flashes—Peaks Saturday."</a>)</strong></p><p>At their most visible late Saturday night and before dawn Sunday this year, the Perseids occur when Earth and the moon pass through a cloud of rocky particles shed by<a href="http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/solar-system/asteroids-comets-article/"> comet</a> Swift-Tuttle.</p><p>Hitting the atmosphere at speeds of almost a hundred thousand miles (160,000 kilometers) an hour, the meteoroids burn up, producing streaks of light—meteors, or shooting stars—each lasting just a fraction of a second.</p><p>(Related:<a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/08/photogalleries/100811-perseid-meteor-shower-pictures-perseids-science-space-astronomy/"> "Perseid Pictures: Meteor Shower Dazzles Every August."</a>)</p><p><em></em></p><p><em>—With reporting by <a href="https://plus.google.com/100694619156012691198">Andrew Fazekas</a></em></p>