It's that time of the summer again. No, we're not talking about the grim death of vacation for school children or the unbearably hot conditions for those crazy enough to work outside. It's once again time to look skyward and bask in the natural beauty of the 2013 Perseid meteor shower.

"During the weekend of August 10-August 11, Perseid meteors will be visible near a rate of 20 to 40 per hour, depending on the time of night and your viewing conditions," the American Meteor Society noted. "Perseid meteors can be seen in all parts of the sky. One can tell they are Perseids as their paths will all lead back to the constellation of Perseus. If it doesn't, then you have just witnessed one of the 10 or so random (sporadic) meteors that are visible each hour during the morning hours."

Though this weekend will be the most convenient time to view the Perseid meteor shower (those day jobs ruin all the fun don't they?), the best time to see the annual light show is actually a couple of days later. And yes, there will be plenty to see.

"We have found that one meteor shower produces more fireballs than any other," Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office said in a statement. "It's the Perseid meteor shower, which peaks on August 12th and 13th."

The Perseid meteor shower is seen every year when the Earth passes through Comet Swift-Tuttle's path of dust and debris. That debris burns up in the Earth's atmosphere, creating the meteors we all love to see. Comet Swift-Tuttle was first identified in 1862 by Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle, though the history of the Perseid meteor showers goes back much further than that.

"The Perseids are also sometimes referred to as the 'tears of St Lawrence,' after the Catholic saint who was martyred on August 10th, 258 AD. The Perseids have been noted by Chinese astronomers as far back as 36 AD, when it was recorded that 'more than 100 meteors flew thither in the morning.' The annual nature of the shower was first described by Belgian astronomer Adolphe Quételet in 1835," reports David Dickinson of universetoday.com.

The best hours to watch nature's fireworks display are between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. Avid stargazers caution to give your eyes about 30 minutes to adjust to the dark before you really start seeing the meteors in all of their brilliance. The best places to go would be anywhere that is rural and removed from the light pollution that invades the city.