The streak you call a shooting star is the death of a grain of rock no bigger than a grain of sand. It has been drifting in space for ages, the Earth runs into it at tens of thousands of miles an hour, and the friction of our air heats it white hot and burns it to nothing about sixty miles up. The whole thing lasts a second or less. Nothing hits the ground, and the star itself, the actual sun in the distance, is entirely untouched. On any clear, truly dark night you can expect to catch a few an hour.
What you are actually watching
Most of the dust comes from comets. A comet is a dirty iceberg that sheds grit every time it swings near the Sun, and it leaves that grit strung out along its orbit. When the Earth crosses one of those trails we get a meteor shower, and the count jumps from a few an hour to dozens. The rest of the time we are just sweeping up the loose debris that drifts through the inner Solar System, and those random streaks are called sporadics.
How many to expect tonight
If no named shower is peaking, plan on a handful an hour from a dark site, more after midnight. If one of the year's big showers is running, the sky can give you a streak a minute at its best. The one thing that ruins any of it is light, whether from a city, a nearby streetlamp or a bright Moon. Under a city glow you might wait an hour for a single one.
Where to look
Do not stare at one spot. Shooting stars cross the whole dome of the sky, and the longest ones appear far from wherever the shower is pouring out. Lie back, take in as much open sky as you can, and let your gaze go soft. Face away from any town glow on the horizon. You want the darkest, widest patch overhead, not a particular constellation.
How to watch so you catch them
Get away from lights, lie down so you are not craning your neck, and give your eyes a full twenty minutes to adapt to the dark. One look at a phone resets that, so keep the screen off or switch it to a deep red. Dress warmer than you think you need to, because lying still gets cold fast. Then just wait and keep your eyes on the sky. Patience is the whole skill.
Know the nights the count climbs.
A few nights a year the Earth hits a thick part of a comet trail and the rate goes from a handful to a streak a minute. Those nights pass fast, and the Moon and your horizon decide whether you see them. Magna Earth watches it over your coordinates and tells you the night and hour it is worth getting away from the lights.
Get the good nights, by location — from $14/mo