When and how to watch

The Perseid meteor shower, considered one of the best meteor showers of the year by amateur astronomers, is expected to peak between August 11 and 13.

But you don’t have to wait that long, the first meteors were visible in July and will continue to appear throughout most of August.

Experts say the best chance of spotting a meteor begins just after midnight and ends about an hour before sunrise.

Although meteors are visible to the naked eye, check the weather where you are as it may affect visibility.

The Perseid meteors are visible all over the world and are so called because they appear to originate from the constellation Perseus.

While most nights the shower features only a few meteors per hour, the peak of the Perseids can bring many, many more.

If you’re really lucky, you might see 100 or more meteors per hour, scientists say.

We see meteors when Earth passes through trails of comet or asteroid debris. When this debris hits our planet’s atmosphere, it burns up and creates spectacular light trails.

The Perseids – pronounced “Per-si-ides” – are caused by debris left behind by the comet Swift-Tuttle.

Dr Gregory Brown, senior public astronomy officer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, said the Perseids are one of the fastest meteor showers.

“They travel at up to 60 kilometers per second, but they are about the size of paint spots or grains of sand falling through the atmosphere.

“Although it causes this rather bright light show, there’s absolutely no chance of them hitting the ground. And even if they did, they’re tiny little things, so they wouldn’t cause any damage.”

Try to reach the darkest place possible with a clear view of the sky.

The darker it is where you are, the more likely you are to see meteors streaking across the sky.

“Fill your field of vision with as much sky as possible, either by lying down or using a lounge chair, then wait and let your eyes adjust to the darkness and eventually, fingers crossed, if it’s a nice, clear day and you stare for an hour or so, you should at least be able to catch a handful,” Dr. Brown said.

Looking ahead to finding the best place to see the spectacle, BBC weather forecaster Billy Payne says sunny spells are expected across most of the UK on Sunday night, but cloud levels could increase in western Britain and Northern Ireland.

“This means the best viewing conditions will be in eastern England and perhaps eastern Scotland,” he said.

“On Monday evening, the north and west of the UK should have clear skies at first, but cloud will increase and periods of rain will arrive here later.

“Eastern Scotland could see some persistent showers for a while, perhaps overnight in the Northern Isles, but elsewhere there should be some clear spells.”

He said Tuesday night would see “clear skies” in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and that in southern and eastern England there could be rain and cloudy patches with “clear spells in between”.

“Parts of northern and western England are likely to be caught under a front, meaning visibility potential will be limited for many,” he said.

Check the weather forecast for your area on BBC Weather here