Perseid meteor shower to peak across Scotland tonight

The celestial display will light up the skies over the British Isles tonight as up to 100 meteors shoot across the sky each hour.

The meteor shower is associated with debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle which orbits the sun every 133 years.

These meteorites are usually no bigger than a grain of sand and quickly burn up when they enter the Earth's atmosphere.

When will the Perseid meteor shower peak in Scotland?

The Perseid meteor shower will peak tonight (Monday, August 12) and throughout tomorrow morning (Tuesday, August 13).

Despite the peak across Scotland being on August 12, Daniel Brown, associate professor in astronomy at Nottingham Trent University, said it is worth keeping an eye out for a secondary peak, should it occur.

He said: “The meteor shower slowly builds up from mid July to then reach its peak activity at 100 per hour on August 12.

“It then reduces until the mid-end of August.

“However, in reality, the activity can show more complex variation which means the peak might not be the only one.

“The years 2018 and 2020 had some increased activity a day or two after the main peak.

“So in addition to meteor showers not being a one-evening thing – slowly increasing and then decreasing over days – we might see that the most active evening might be followed by another one a day or two later.”

The weather may be less than ideal for seeing the meteor shower (Image: Nirut Sangkeaw)

Will the Perseid meteor shower be visible in Scotland tonight?

Despite peaking across Scotland and the rest of the UK tonight, it may be difficult to catch a glimpse of the meteorites.

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for thunder across all of Scotland today, leading to overcast and cloudy conditions.

The meteorological organisation has also warned of heavy rain and flooding, leading to many communities being cut off and transport links being impacted.