Starry starry night: Meteor shower set to illuminate UK's clear skies

Britain's skies are set to shimmer tonight with a "natural firework display" as a meteor shower crosses into the earth's atmosphere.

The Perseids meteor shower is an annual event and the Royal Astronomical Society believe this year's showing could prove to be particularly illuminating with a possible 60 shooting stars an hour in the UK.

NASA's meteorite environment officer explains why Perseids has been identified as the "fireball champion" of meteor showers:

Star-gazers may have to head east for the best view of the shower, which is a result of material falling from the tail of Comet Swift-Tuttle that last passed near the Earth in 1992.

Conditions are expected to be kind to star-gazers, with ITV Weather Presenter Lucy Verasamy saying:

The best display will last from late this evening through to early tomorrow morning.

Where are the best places in the UK to view the meteor shower?

• Brecon Beacons in south Wales has been tipped as one of the best places to watch the shower but is expected to see cloud come in from Ireland later in the night.

• Galloway Forest Park, which can boast being one of only four "Dark Sky Parks" in the western world, will also have some cloudy patches come and go.

• Those in London and the south east are advised to head for the North Downs or the Chilterns.

Shooting stars are the result of small particles entering the Earth's atmosphere at high speed.

They mainly appear as fleeting flashes lasting less than a second but the brightest ones leave behind trails that may take a few seconds to fade.

The Perseids meteor shower is active each year from around mid-July to late-August, but for most of that period only a few meteors an hour will be visible.

• If you take any shooting star pictures from tonight's meteor shower, send them to yourstory@itn.co.uk.