BILLED by the UK National Space Centre as ‘the best light show of the year’, the Perseid Meteor Shower reaches its peak tomorrow night.
And there could be up to 150 meteors-an-hour as its grand finale takes place.
The Perseids happen every August because the Earth crosses the orbital path of Comet Swift-Tuttle.
The comets shed dust and stones as they fly around the sun and the debris which falls causes the Perseids, hitting the Earth’s atmosphere at 125,000miles-per-hour, burning brightly with short blazes 80km from the ground.
The Perseids – named after the summer constellation Perseus – are so bright and numerous they are clearly visible with the naked eye, provided the sky is dark and cloud free.
The best showing of these ‘shooting stars’ in the region is between midnight tomorrow and dawn on Friday, August 13.
Stargazers are urged to be patient, because of the frequency of them, even a gap in the cloud can be enough to see a few bright meteors.
