The next full moon will be the August sturgeon moon, set to rise on Aug. 9, amid the Mercury retrograde and just before the Perseid meteor shower peaks.

What makes the Perseids great is the quantity of meteors, their showy quality and the August summer nights when you can view them. But this year, there's a caveat.

Meteor showers like the Perseids often gradually increase in intensity and then peak, before rapidly falling off. In other words, the curve is not symmetrical, and now is the time to start looking.