Stargazers were dazzled by the stunning Geminid meteor shower on Thursday night as a flurry of shooting stars streaked across the sky.
The display, which is considered one of the best astronomical phenomena that can be easily seen from earth, appeared on a clear night – the best conditions to see the coloured, glowing arcs.
Despite the freezing weather, stargazers across the UK, mostly in rural areas, reported seeing the meteors.
It peaked at around 2.30am, appearing all over the night sky, unlike many meteor showers.
In perfect conditions, up to 120 Geminids an hour would be visible, but weather and light pollution normally means around 50 an hour are seen.
The Geminid meteors appear to radiate from near the star Castor, which is in the constellation Gemini.
Although most meteor showers are caused by comets, the meteors splintered from a rocky asteroid known as 3200 Phaethon.
The shower can produce multi-coloured flashes, with white, yellow, blue, green and red visible.
