Yes, its tonight - peaking at 1:50 am into Thursday. Should expect to see about 1 a minute. The key is to be in a dark location. Check out your local astronomical societies to find gathering places. Last year, when we went to view the closest approach of Mars to Earth, the Eastside astronomical society had done a good job about choosing a dark location - somewhere in a park where the traffic on road is minimal. Yes, even the headlights from cars passing by can mess around with your fun; needless to mention the city lights attributing to light pollution. To learn more about light pollution, visit International Dark-Sky Association (IDA).
To know more about the Perseids and where they come from, check out the link on the title. Below are some additional references. Have fun meteor-gazing!
1. http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/25jun_perseids2004.htm
2. Sky & Telescope magazine
Speaking about light pollution earlier in this blog reminds me of my visit to the Morrison planetaurim at the California Academy of Sciences. An excerpt from the academy's website - A planetarium is a domed theater in which a realistic and scientifically-accurate simulation of the night sky is created, using a highly-specialized "star projector.". To help explain the effect of light pollution, the presenter projected the view of the night sky above San Francisco devoid of any effects of light pollution. After reviewing the dark night sky, he then, switched to a view of the night sky with the San Fran lights turned on. And lo!, half of the stars vanished from the view.
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