The Perseid meteor shower, considered the best meteor shower of the year according to NASA, will peak tonight and also be visible in Ireland on Thursday night.
It has been visible in Ireland over the past few days.
Clear skies in many areas of the country are set to give stargazers a good chance of seeing the phenomenon.
The shooting stars are set to be visible all night from dusk until dawn in Ireland.
People watching don't really need telescopes, binoculars or any other special equipment and it can be seen by the naked eye.
NASA explained: “The Perseids, which peak during mid-August, are considered the best meteor shower of the year.
“With very fast and bright meteors, Perseids frequently leave long ‘wakes’ of light and color behind them as they streak through Earth's atmosphere.
“The Perseids are one of the most plentiful showers (50-100 meteors seen per hour) and occur with warm summer nighttime weather, allowing sky watchers to easily view them.”
For your best chance of seeing the meteor shower, NASA advises looking to the skies between midnight and 05:30am.
It said: “The Perseids are best viewed in the Northern Hemisphere during the pre-dawn hours, though at times it is possible to view meteors from this shower as early as 10 p.m.”
The meteors in this particular shower come from comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, which was discovered back in 1862.
NASA explained: “When comets come around the sun, they leave a dusty trail behind them. Every year Earth passes through these debris trails, which allows the bits to collide with our atmosphere and disintegrate to create fiery and colourful streaks in the sky.”
Give your eyes at least 15 minutes to adjust to the dark so that you can catch more of the fainter meteors.
For your best chance of seeing the meteor shower, head to an area with little light pollution, ideally away from big cities.
