Cross your fingers, toes, eyes and everything else for a clear sky on the evening of August 11, because there's a chance we might see a lot of shooting stars.

Every year at this time the number of shooting stars we can see goes up because it's the peak of the Perseid meteor shower. Usually we see one every couple of minutes, but this year meteor experts are predicting an "outburst" of activity which could make that number shoot up dramatically. You will see some shooting stars just from your garden, but if you can get to somewhere really dark with a good view of lots of the sky you will see lots more.

Start looking after after 11pm, and stay out as long as you can; the longer you can stay out looking, the more you will see, because activity is always highest after midnight. Statistically, the early hours of the morning is the very best time to look, so either stay up late or set your alarm!

How many might we see? We can't know that in advance, but if the sky is clear after dark on Thursday night, do your best to get out and look for shooting stars, because we might be in for quite a celestial show, with several shooting stars zipping across the sky every minute. Just be aware that there are often lulls in meteor showers when you see nothing for several minutes, only to see several in quick succession.

Stuart Atkinson

Eddington Astronomical Society