The Perseid meteor shower will peak on the night of August 12 (Credit: NASA.gov/ Public Domain)There are numerous meteor showers throughout the year. That is when the number of meteors will increase sharply to between 50 and 100 an hour. The Perseid meteor shower is caused by the debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle (Credit: NASA.gov/ Public Domain)Often called "shooting stars," meteors are actually tiny bits of dust and rock left behind by comets as they orbit the Sun. The perseid shower is named after the constellation Perseus because the meteors appear to come from there. The meteor shower is best viewed with just your own eyes.