Best meteor shower of the year takes place over Ireland tonight
The night sky will play host to this year's Perseid meteor shower later today.
The meteors earn their name through their proximity to the constellation Perseus. They are not stars but tiny flecks of material that were shed by the comet Swift-Tuttle each time it swept past the sun.
Tonight's event is expected to be visible in the sky above Ireland in the evening after dark.
The meteors can be seen anywhere in the sky with the naked eye and you can see perhaps 20 times more meteors than normal.
Those with dark rural skies will see the most as there are more faint meteors than bright ones.
In the past people have reported seeing two to three Perseids per minute.
Astronomy Ireland is asking people to count how many meteors are seen each 15-minute interval and send them in to the society's website which also has more details of the Perseid meteor showers.
"This year is an exceptional year for viewing the Perseids as the Moon will not be in the sky to swamp the fainter meteors with its bright moonlight" said David Moore, Editor of Astronomy Ireland magazine.
"Some of the meteors can be spectacularly bright, outshining even the brightest stars in the sky. Some even leave glowing 'trains' behind them for several seconds.
It's all truly an awesome sight happening over Ireland that we want the public to go out and witness.
"You don't need any equipment. No binoculars nor telescopes are needed, just normal eyesight."
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