Usually the second best meteor shower of the year, the Perseids, will peak before dawn on Tuesday morning. The Geminids of December is the shower which is usually the best, but is washed out by the moon this year. Of course, observing at night in December is usually much harsher than August for those in the U.S., except if you're in the Deep South.

You will want to view the last two hours or so before astronomical twilight starts. Other things: get as far away from city lights as possible. Clouds will make observing pointless. So, you want a clear, dark location. The moon will set in most places by 2 AM.

If you are in a clear, dark countryside sky, you will probably roughly see about one per minute. Places with little water vapor, like many places out West, can do better, while other places with lots of water vapor, like South Florida, will fare worse. Don't forget that insects can be a problem this time of year. One of the best ways is to stretch out on a blanket on the ground and look up. ...although bringing a lawn chair just in case the bugs really get to you is not a bad idea, too.

Perseus will be high in the northeast after midnight (you will want to wait to observe until around or after moonset) and be a little northeast of overhead before dawn. If you see a "W" or "M" in the sky (the constellation Cassopeia), the radiant- place where most of the meteors you'll see appears to come from- will be about one "W" length down to the lower left of Cassiopeia.

You will probably want to have the zenith (overhead point) somewhere in your focus, as it is usually dark and you don't want the horizon in your field of view (it should be entirely sky). If there are city lights brightening the sky or more clouds in one portion of the sky, select more of the opposite side of the sky.

The Perseids normally don't produce a lot of very bright meteors (fireballs, which are about as bright or brighter than how Jupiter appears in the sky). If you see a couple, consider yourself pretty lucky.

Again, it will be before dawn on Tues morning, August 12.

Yay I love watching meteor showers.

I love getting hit by meteors. They're few and far between but man, when they hit, it's indescribable. Better than an STP show.

As the same goes for those that have to work, I unfortunatly will not be able to watch the meteor shower;(
Thanks for the email heads up, Pete!!