Perseid Sideshows: Smaller Meteor Showers Shine This Summer

Nobody really knows why, but meteor activity is far richer in the second half of the year. The best summer meteor show happens around the nights of Aug. 11 and Aug. 12, when the annual Perseid shower peaks. The Perseids are capable of producing 60 to 90 fast, bright meteors per hour.  This year should be a very good one for the Perseids, partially because there will be no bright moonlight interfering, as it had done in past years, and also because Earth might encounter a heavier-than-n