Early Tuesday morning, starting with 4 a.m., the Perseid meteor shower offered an extremely entertaining show to all the people awake on the East Coast. The annual event proved to be much better than in other years, as the moon’s position helped with a clearer visibility of the hundreds of meteors that filled the sky for several hours.

The “show” lasts for several nights, so people who missed it might get another chance during the next few days. Unfortunately, the scientists say that the event’s high point was this morning, so the next meteor shower displays might not be as spectacular.

According to David McKenzie, assistant research professor of physics at Montana State University, the shower can be visible to a certain degree for a few weeks but the prime viewing time only last a few hours. He also explained that there are many more such events occurring every year, mentioning November’s Leonid shower.

Looking to offer a simple explanation for all those witnessing the event or interested in the topic, Mr. David McKenzie said: “It’s a cloud of debris and rock and dust that’s left over from a passing comet,” McKenzie said. “We just happen to pass through it each year.”

The estimates show that there were more than 80 meteors falling each hour, all particles from the Swift-Tuttle comet.

Astronomy enthusiasts rushed to the Joshua Tree National Park in order to get the perfect viewing angle. “It's a pretty popular activity at the park,” explained Park spokesman Joe Zarki.