Heads up. The Perseid meteor shower will make its way across the night sky this week, and astronomers say the moonless sky will make for the best viewing since 2007.

The Perseids show up every year when the Earth passes through debris — mostly ice and dust bits — left over from the Swift-Tuttle comet. Those bits burn up as they hit our atmosphere and show up as flashes of light across the night sky.

“This year, two things are happening that’ll enhance the shower,” said David Dundee, an astronomer at the Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville. One, the shower will peak when it’s dark over North America. Two, there’s a new moon Friday.

“The moon is just an annoyance to most astronomers because it makes the sky too bright,” Dundee said.

The combination is expected to double the number of visible meteors to about 100 an hour.

The best time to look up is after midnight because you’re looking in the direction the Earth is moving around the sun.

“I like to call that the dirty windshield effect. When you’re driving through Florida, you get more bug splats on your front window than your rear window, and the same thing with the Earth,” Dundee said.

Romantic, right? If you can, Dundee said, head out away from the city lights any night starting tonight through this weekend. No need for a telescope. Just look up.

Most state parks will be closed (gates shut at 10 p.m.) unless you’re staying overnight, but rangers at Hard Labor State Park will be keeping the beach open until 3 a.m. Thursday so people can watch the stars.