The Perseid meteor shower occurs annually when the Earth passes through material left behind by comet Swift-Tuttle.

In the dark skies of outlying areas around Wichita or other Kansas cities, peak activity should reveal as many as 30 to 60 meteors an hour – in other words, an average of one meteor every minute or two.

For this special event, Lake Afton Public Observatory will open its doors at 11 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 12, and will remain open until 2 a.m. Friday, Aug. 13.

Although you can’t view meteors through a telescope, the observatory’s 16-inch telescope will be available during this time to observe Jupiter, star clusters, clouds of interstellar gas and a pair of galaxies passing very close to each other.

Viewing the meteor shower outside is free, but for those who want to look through the telescope inside, regular admission charges apply. In honor of the meteor shower, anyone who comes in with some form of shower attire – a raincoat, an umbrella, a bar of soap, a towel, etc. – will receive $1 off regular admission.

Lake Afton Public Observatory is operated by the Fairmount Center for Science and Mathematics Education at Wichita State University.