Britain is to be treated to a spectacular display of meteors on Saturday night with up to two visible every minute at the peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower.
With clear skies forecast over much of the south and central England and in the north of Scotland, amateur astronomers should be able to see the meteors streak across the night’s sky. A waning crescent moon, however, may produce some glare that will interfere with viewing and light pollution in large cities will make spotting the meteors difficult. The meteors appear when debris from the Perseid cloud orbiting the sun hits the Earth’s atmosphere, producing bright streaks across the sky. They will be visible emanating from the Perseus constellation tot he north.
The Perseid shower, which happens each August, began on Wednesday night but is due to reach its peak on Saturday with thousands of meteors expected to be seen over the coming evenings.