Summer is a great time to stargaze, and Maine is a great place to catch those shooting stars. Don't miss the best meteor shower of summer.

Maine is a great place to see some of the best meteor showers of the year. It's not very hard to find dark areas away from light pollution to get a clear view of the night sky.

The best meteor shower of not only the summer, but the the year, is the Perseids meteor shower. This meteor shower favors the northern hemisphere for best viewing. The number of meteors increases from midnight through a few hours before dawn. You could see as many as 40-50 meteors per-hour, according to EarthSky.org. They will appear bright and fast in the night sky. The photo above shows Perseid meteors.

The Perseids this year peaks the nights of August 11, 12, 13. While peak nights tend to produce the most frequent shooting stars, this meteor shower continues for the following 10 days or so. If you've seen meteors streaking across the night sky in previous weeks, they've likely been Perseids. The light show tends to start in mid-July.

Another added advantage of viewing after the peak; as of August 17 the night sky will be mostly moon-free. Less moonlight makes meteors even more vibrant against the dark night or early morning sky.

After the Perseid shower, the next major meteor shower will be the Draconid meteor shower in October.

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