FINGERS CROSSED for clear skies tonight, because the people of Ireland could be in for a real treat.
With the planet currently passing through the tail end of the famous Halley's Comet, Irish skies are set to light up, with up to 20 meteors an hour predicted to shoot across the heavens.
The annual event, known as the Orionids meteor shower, will be best viewed from approximately 11.30pm tonight--just under an hour from now-- and will continue until dawn.
TheJournal.ie reports that David Moore, editor of astronomy magazine Astronomy Ireland has described the planet's passing through the tail end of Halley's Comet as "like plowing through a storm of insects while zooming down a motorway", with some parts of the country expected to get "about five or six shooting stars every 10 minutes".
“The naked eye is best to watch this type of thing," Mr Moore said.
"We ask people to count the number of shooting stars they see every 15 minutes and send them in. The only reason we know this shower is active is because thousands of people do this every year.”
The meteors will be located in the south-eastern part of the sky, and while some parts of Ireland unfortunately have fairly heavy cloud cover tonight, other parts, such as in the South-West, are much clearer-- so if you've been blessed with clear skies tonight it's definitely worth going outside for a look!
