Keep your eyes peeled over the coming weeks as the annual Perseid meteor shower will soon be visible.

Meteor showers take place all throughout the year, but none shine quite as bright as the Perseids, which is known to be the brightest meteor shower on the stargazing calendar.

Like all meteor showers the Perseids is caused by particles of comet debris entering our atmosphere.

As they burn up the particles appear as shooting stars, creating bright streaks in the sky.

The annual Perseid meteor shower takes place between mid-July and August every year and providing weather conditions work in our favour, the shower should be visible across the UK.

This year the spectacular event will reach its peak on the 12th and 13th August, when up to 100 shooting stars may be seen every hour.

The best time to see the shower is between midnight and the early hours of the morning, before 5.30am.

There is no need for a telescope or binoculars but you should aim to reduce the amount of light pollution surrounding you in order to get the best view.