Amazing Perseid Meteor Shower Instagram Pictures Ahead Of 2016 Star Show

It’s the night sky watchers across the globe have been waiting for – The 2016 Perseid meteor shower.

The Perseids take place once a year when Earth spins through a trail of dust and debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle. As the earth moves through the path, viewers can see a streak of lime light and a ton of falling stars shooting around the sky. This is caused when the burning debris enters the Earth’s atmosphere.

The meteor shower has been lighting up the sky since July 17 and will last until Aug. 24, but the most anticipated nights of the Perseid meteor shower are Thursday and Friday.

During these two nights, star-chasers will get to see meteors falling at an exponentially higher rate, possibly double the 50 to 60 meteors per hour that usually fall during the Perseids. Because of this, viewers will be able to see the most amount of meteors in the shortest amount of time.

According to Space.com, this is something that hasn’t happened since 2009, which makes this year's Perseids even more fascinating.

Although the waxing gibbous moon that takes effect Thursday may potentially make the Perseids a little less bright, star gazers should be able to see all the wonders of the meteor shower as long as their under a particularly dark sky area like the suburbs or countryside. It may be more difficult to spot the falling meteors in major cities. However, with the help of a telescope or binoculars city dwellers may be able to get a glimpse of a few stars through the smog.

Viewers have already been participating in the sky party and using their social media to showcase the starry skies around the globe during the Perseids.

If you need a reason to check out the 2016 Perseids meteor shower, check out a few of the photos star-watchers have posted on their Instagram of the light show below: