The Perseids are back, just like every year. Even though I’m a bit late with the announcement this year (the peak occurred last night, Aug 11th), I’m still a few hours early for tonight’s show, so I hope this helps… 
In short, both tonight (Aug 12th) and tomorrow night (Aug 13th), you might want to grab a reclining chair or a blanket, go out in a place outside the city where you have as little surrounding light as possible, and look at the sky. If you have a clear sky, the show will most likely be spectacular.
With the Moon out (Last Quarter Moon occurs 23 hours after the Perseid shower peak), you’ll need a clear, dark sky to see more than just a few Perseids. “Dark” means at least 40 miles from the lights of a large city. You won’t need a telescope – in fact, the eyes alone work best because they provide the widest field of view.
In order to see the Perseids shower, you just have to face east, and look about halfway up. After midnight (around the time of moonrise), you may want to shift your view overhead. Glancing around won’t hurt anything. In addition to your chair/blanket, you can bring some bug spray, cookies/fruit, and a non-alcoholic beverage (alcohol interferes with the eye’s dark adaption as well as the visual perception of events). 
How many Perseids will you see? This year, with a half-illuminated Moon in the sky, you can expect to count between 30 and 50 meteors per hour from a dark site during the peak period (Aug 11-13).
More details on NASA’s 2009 Perseids page.
