23 July

On 23 July every year, the Perseid meteor shower begins.

The shower begins when Earth enters the edge of a cloud of debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle. Dust-sized particles hit the atmosphere and appear to streak across the night sky.

The Perseids are visible between 23 July and 22 August but, by 12 August, at the peak of the shower, skywatchers can expect to see possibly 80-100 meteors per hour if skies are clear.