AMATEUR astronomers will have another chance to view the Perseids meteor shower as the spectacular annual light show continues this evening.
More commonly called "shooting stars", the Perseids are pieces of Comet Swift-Tuttle.
In August each year, the Earth passes through a cloud of the comet's debris. These tiny pieces of ice and dust, which range from the size of a grain of sand to around as big as a pea, hit the Earth's atmosphere at 60km/s – or 134,000 mph – to streak across the sky with breathtaking effect.
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