Everyone loves spotting a shooting star, and many people make a wish if they see one dashing across the sky. Even some astronomers think it's worth a try!

Shooting stars aren't stars at all, but tiny pieces of space dust burning up as they streak through Earth's atmosphere. On any clear night we can see one every half hour or so, if we're looking in the right direction at the right time. But at certain times every year many more can be seen than usual, as Earth ploughs through a stream of comet dust. Then we see a ‘meteor shower.’ Every August the Perseid meteor shower delights sky-watchers. This year - with no Moon shining in the sky to drown out the fainter shooting stars with its brilliant light - after midnight on August 12 (and a couple of nights either side) we can hope to see a shooting star or two every minute, maybe more.

No telescope or binoculars are needed to see a meteor shower, but go somewhere dark, and obviously the more of the sky you can see the better. Go out around midnight, look east, and wait. Soon you’ll see a shooting star - and it’s okay to make a wish… Stuart Atkinson Eddington Astronomical Society of Kendal