Stargazers are in for a treat tonight, when the Perseid meteor shower is set to light up the night sky.

Eddie McGonagle, of the Astronomical Society of Bermuda, said: "The streaks of light we see shooting across the sky these mid-August nights indicate that the Perseids have arrived.

"Each year at this time, the Earth intersects a stream of debris, left in the wake of comet Swift-Tuttle. This comet has been orbiting the sun every 130 years since before the time of Christ.

"On each passage it deposits a fresh batch of grain-sized particles from its melted surface so that it now has material all around its orbit, with Earth sweeping a path through this stream every August 12 / 13."

Mr. McGonagle said the peak viewing time for the natural fireworks display is estimated to be from 10 p.m. tonight through to dawn tomorrow.

"Initially the shooting stars will be seen as long slow streaks coming from the north east and gradually climbing up to an overhead position where the numbers will increase, but the streaks shorten in length," he explained.

"Hopefully we will see them at a rate of about 50 per hour."