How to watch the Perseid meteor shower online

Stargazers and astronomy lovers mark your calendars; a meteor shower is comingthis week.

The annual Perseid meteor shower will streak across the sky Aug. 11-12 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, 5:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, and 12 midnight Coordinated Universal Time.

Perseidmeteors are small fragments of the comet Swift-Tuttle that reach the Earth’s atmosphere and disintegrate in small flashes of light.

The event happens annually, but this year experts are expecting it to be more of a sight to see than usual. The last time it was seen fully was in 2009.

“Forecasters are predicting a Perseid outburst this year with double normal rates on the night of Aug. 11-12,” Bill Cooke, NASA’s Meteoroid Environments Office, said in a statement. “Under perfect conditions, rates could soar to 200 meters per hour,” he added.

According to NASA, the meteor shower will be visible anywhere around the globe if the sky is clear.

If you won’t be able to watch it because of your location, you’re in luck.

The cosmic folks over at Slooh — acommunity dedicated to space research — will host a four-hour livestream of the sky to capture the Perseid meteor shower from beginning to end. They will broadcast live from their observatories inthe Canary Islands, Slooh HQ in Washington, Connecticut, and their live feed partners in the United Kingdom, and Thunder Bay, Canada.

The livestream begins at 8 p.m. EST.