The Perseid Meteor Shower for August 2012 will be an amazing visual display compared to the same event last year. There is still time to catch the extraordinary light show, which takes place across the nights of August 11, 12 and 13, and if you are not able to catch the action outside you can watch it online through live stream.

The Perseid meteor shower is from the debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle impacting the earth's atmosphere during its rotation. There is not a peak time to see the meteors but NASA officials have advised that the meteor shower should be particularly visible in the hours prior to dawn.

The show is certainly said to be more intense from midnight and continue for the entire night until sunrise.

The past two years has seen disappointing Perseid meteor showers due to adverse conditions, but this year promises to be the best for three years, and the meteor light show should be very visible, especially for those in the darker areas.

The shooting stars are particles of dust and debris from the tail of comet Swift-Tuttle, and as those particles impact with the Earth's atmosphere it gives off an amazing burn streak in the night sky.

Ordinarily the conditions can impact the viewing a lot, and usually there is one night that will be particularly good for viewing. However, this year NASA has said that all three nights of the meteor shower should be spectacular.

In recent years the average number of shooting stars has been low and last year it was only 30 per hour. In the best years there have been as many as 170 per hour on average. This year however the average is set to be above 100 per hour again and especially the visibility of the shower should be clearer than for years, making it an event not to be missed.

NASA has reported: "With the shower just beginning to wane, the planets put on their best show yet."

"The 17% crescent moon will pass less than 3 degrees from Venus as Jupiter hovers overhead."

"Sky watchers say there's nothing prettier than a close encounter between the slender crescent Moon and Venus-nothing, that is, except for the crescent Moon, Venus and a flurry of Perseids."