Islanders are in for a spectacular light show this evening as a Perseid meteor shower is expected to pass overhead.

Anyone interested in seeing these shooting stars should start looking up at the skies from 10.30 p.m. although the best display is likely to be between midnight and dawn.

Described by the Bermuda Astronomical Society as "the year's best meteor display", these falling stars also have a special connection to the Island's 400th anniversary of permanent settlement.

Society member Eddie McGonagle said: "Some experts have calculated the Earth will pass through a filament of debris left behind when the Perseid parent comet, Swift-Tuttle, passed close to our planet in August 1610 the year after Bermuda was settled 400 years ago.

"It would be quite interesting to think the dust particles we are seeing were ejected from the Swift-Tuttle into a separate filament in August 1610, as Bermuda was being born.

"If this calculation is correct then additional fireworks should be apparent in the early hours of Wednesday morning."

He said: "The shooting stars earlier in the evening will probably be 'earth-grazers' which means they come in at a low angle, so you can get spectacular long bright trails."

As Bermuda has such low light pollution, stargazers can take advantage of good visibility into our solar system. To enhance this, Mr. McGonagle also recommends using an umbrella to "shade the moon or neighbouring lights".

Shooting stars originate from comets as they spin around the Sun and reject ice, gas, dust, rock and other debris termed meteoroids.

As these fragments enter the Earth's atmosphere they burn up, causing bright streaks of light across the sky called meteors.

At certain times of the year, meteor showers occur when the Earth passes through the trail of debris left by a comet as it orbits the Sun.

The Swift-Tuttle comet has a 130-year orbit and is a couple of thousand years old.