The Perseids meteor shower will be visible across Irish skies tonight. Widely considered to be the best meteor shower of the year, it will reach its peak tonight and tomorrow night.
Irish skies will be lit up by the Perseids meteor shower tonight. An annual event, it's one of the most-watched meteor showers of the year given that it's easily visible to the entire northern hemisphere in August.
Caused by dust and debris shed by passing comets, the Perseid meteors come from a comet called Swift-Tuttle which orbits the Sun every 133 years.
What time will the Perseids meteor shower be visible tonight?
Due to reach its peak tonight and tomorrow night, 20 times more shooting stars will be visible than on a normal night. Described as a "natural celestial fireworks display" by Astronomy Ireland, stargazers will be able to see meteors shoot across the sky from dusk to dawn with the best time supposedly being just before dawn.
And in even better news, you won't need any fancy equipment to see the meteors either as they'll be visible from dusk until dawn - just open your peepers and keep your eyes on the sky. According to
NASA, you might even spot the occasional "fireball" too if you're lucky.
People are asked to email details of sightings - that is how many meteors they count per 15 minutes - to Astronomy Ireland (MAGAZINE@ASTRONOMY.IE)
