Weekend dazzler: Meteor shower in skies over Vietnam

The Perseids meteor shower will be at its peak over Vietnam after midnight on Monday (August 13), but stargazers can watch it in the predawn hours from Saturday, according to the Vietnam Amateur Astronomers Club.

The annual shooting star phenomenon which can be seen every August, could put up a breathtaking show this year of up to 100 meteors per hour, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

Dang Vu Tuan Son, chairman of the Vietnam Astronomy and Cosmology Association, said the best time to watch the phenomenon would be in the early hours of Monday morning in the northeastern skies.  

No special equipment is needed to witness the Perseids meteor shower, Son said, recommending places with an unobstructed view of the sky.

With no moonlight to interfere, it is expected to become one of the best meteor displays of the year.

The Perseids are made up of pieces of space debris that originate from comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1862. Records of the meteor shower date back almost 2,000 years.