If you’re a fan of meteor showers, get excited because the Perseids are on their way.
The peak of the annual shower is expected to roll around Thursday evening into Friday morning, according to Christine Pulliam, a spokeswoman for the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophsyics.
This year marks an especially important year, with more meteors expected than usual, Pulliam said. While the Perseids showers typically feature meteors falling at a rate of 60 to 90 meteors per hour, this year there are expected to be up to 150 meteors per hour.
Pulliam says this is all thanks to Jupiter.
“All meteor showers come from comet dust, and we’re expecting to see an especially thick dust stream this year,’’ Pulliam said. “The gravity of Jupiter influences the amount of dust, and it nudged this especially large patch of dust in our direction.’’
Pulliam said what people see during meteor showers are actually small bits of cosmic dust entering the Earth’s atmosphere.
“They’re going very fast and when they enter the Earth’s atmosphere, they burn up and they glow, and that’s what we see as the streak of the meteors,’’ Pulliam said.
Every year, as the Earth is moving through its orbit, it passes a location where the Swift-Tuttle comet had passed through in its own orbit, Pulliam said. The Earth is hit with the leftover dust from the comet, creating an annual meteor shower.
“I’ve heard some people comparing a meteor shower to driving through a swarm of flies,’’ Pulliam said. “You’re driving through and all of a sudden it just hits you.’’
Pulliam said anyone looking to watch the meteor shower should try to stay away from city lights and find a clear horizon. The most meteors will likely be visible after midnight, in the early hours of Friday morning.
“The great thing about meteor showers is you don’t need a telescope,’’ Pulliam said. “You can just go outside with your naked eye and see the meteors, so a lot of people can really enjoy it.’’
Olivia Quintana can be reached at olivia.quintana@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @oliviasquintana.
