The Perseid meteor shower will peak across the UK tonight with 100 shooting stars per hour. Get the latest top news stories sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter We have more newsletters Get the latest top news stories sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter We have more newsletters Stargazers are in for a treat tonight as a Perseid meteor shower is set to peak across Scotland this evening. The spectacular display is set to dazzle the night skies across the UK tonight, taking place from around sunset on the night of August 12 and throughout the early hours of tomorrow morning on August 13.
The celestial fireworks are expected to light up the sky as the Earth passes through a cloud of cometary dust, giving us all down here a chance to see up to 100 shooting stars per hour if visibility is clear. The Perseids, known to be one of the fastest meteor showers with an average speed of 37 miles per second, are caused by debris left behind by the Swift-Tuttle comet, which orbits the sun once every 133 years. Despite their dramatic display, Dr Gregory Brown, Senior Public Astronomy Officer at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich , has reassured they are only about the size of grains of sand falling into the atmosphere and have "absolutely no chance of hitting the ground" or "causing any harm".
Experts have advised on some of the best areas and tips to catch a glimpse of the meteor shower and the exact time you are wanting to be keeping an eye out for them. T.