It looks like Ireland could be treated to a “natural firework display” tonight as a meteor shower is expected to pass close to the earth’s atmosphere and better yet, you won’t need a telescope to see it.
It’s not often that you get to see a meteor shower in Ireland without the aid of a telescope or binoculars, but if you look into the sky tonight from around 10 o’clock onwards you might see a shower in full swing.
According to the Irish Times, “the natural occurrence is a result of material falling from the tail of Comet Swift-Tuttle, which last passed near the Earth in 1992.”
So while we won’t see the Comet Swift-Tuttle passing by earth anytime soon (it will pass again in 2125) we still get to see some of the debris it left behind.
“Every meteor is a speck of comet dust vaporising as it enters our atmosphere at 36 miles per second. What a glorious way to go,” said Professor Alan Fitzsimmons of Queen’s University Belfast.
As an added bonus for stargazers looking into the skies tonight, the International Space Station should be visible above Ireland from 11 o’clock until around five past eleven.
So make sure to have your camera handy tonight and if you get any good shots of the meteor shower or the ISS make sure to send them our way.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
