One of the most impressive astronomical shows of the year peaks this weekend.

The annual Perseids meteor shower, ongoing since late July and set to continue through much of August, will peak Friday, Aug. 12.

It really is very tiny particles, travelling very fast.

They can be travelling tens to hundreds of thousands of kilometres per hour and when they hit the atmosphere.

The friction heats them to over 1000 degrees and it just vaporizes them.

The regularity of the annual show is the result of the Earth passing through the comet’s previous path in its own orbit around the sun.

Weather for the peak of the event across the central Island is not ideal, nor is the current moon phase.

Forecasted showers and the third of three supermoon’s this year will all run over the weekend.