Watch meteors with your mates at beaches in Chicago and Evanston

Perseid Meteor Shower, via science1.nasa.gov

This is one time you won’t get shooed away by cops for staying too late at Chicago beaches. A couple of them, anyway.

On August 10 and 11, the Chicago Park District will extend the hours at 12th Street Beach and Montrose Beach so star-gazers can hang out and catch the annual Perseid Meteor Shower.

According to Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office, “We expect to see meteor rates as high as a hundred per hour. The Perseids always put on a good show.”

The biggest blast of shooting stars occurs between August 10 and 13, and the aforementioned Chicago locations suffer less from light pollution than many others closer to downtown. Acclaimed astrophysicist and director of the Hayden Planetarium, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, calls the Perseids his “favorite celestial fireworks display.”

Evanston’s Lighthouse Beach will extend its access hours to midnight as well.

If you’re closer to Wheaton, or just like to drive, Chicago’s Adler Planetarium is hosting its own viewing party August 12 from 7 to 11 p.m. at Cantigny Park (1S151 Winfield Rd.).