The Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak in the early hours of Thursday (August 13), just hours after millions were wowed by the solar eclipse. Experts say comets will be visible from midnight until dawn.
It's believed to be the first time the peak of a meteor shower has coincided with a solar eclipse. Alfredo Carpineti, space and physics editor at IFL Science and author of the book Invisible Rainbows, said: "It's so exciting to have these two events happening on the same day.
"I've gone through 5,000 years' worth of eclipse data from NASA, and it looks like Wednesday will be the first time there's an eclipse happening on the same day as the peak of a major meteor shower."
What causes the Perseid shower
Meteor showers, or shooting stars, happen when the Earth passes through patches of space filled with the debris left behind by comets and asteroids. This Perseid shower is caused by fragments of the Swift-Tuttle comet, the largest solar system object to pass Earth regularly at 16 miles in diameter, the Natural History Museum says.
Where to see it in the UK
While the shower will happen above the UK, the Met Office says the sky is only expected to be clear in England and Wales — so star-gazers in Northern Ireland and Scotland won't be able to see much with clouds overhead.
The best way of seeing the Perseid meteor shower is to find a countryside hill where there is little artificial light, and look at the sky at a 60-degree angle.
Tips for viewing
"The darker the skies, the better your chances of seeing the really faint meteors as well," Dr Ashley King told the Natural History Museum. "You could go to the coast or stand on a hill in the middle of the countryside somewhere."
The next step is to be patient, Dr King added. "You might not be able to see anything for the first 10 minutes while your eyes adjust to the dark," Ashley said. "Once you get used to the low light levels you'll begin to notice more and more. So don't give up too quickly."
Others say it can take up to 40 minutes for your eyes to adjust to low light, and given it can still be quite chilly on summer nights, it's best to wrap up warm and sit on a chair to avoid hurting your neck by holding your head back for long periods of time.
Peak viewing times
At its peak, there could be 100 shooting stars an hour. The peak is expected at around 3am.
