Prepare for the Perseids.

This week, the annual meteor shower will illuminate the night sky with cosmic fireworks, creating a particularly dazzling display for skygazers across the Northern Hemisphere.

NASA estimates that between 160 and 200 meteors will ignite in Earth’s atmosphere every hour during the display’s peak on Thursday night and Friday morning. Normally the shower has between 80 and 100 space specks.

The best time to watch is before dawn on Friday.

“It is worth waiting out there for an hour, two hours, three hours, four hours even to catch a glimpse of something like this,” she said. “When you get a good one, it will rival the stars in the sky.”