Meteor showers occur when Earth passes through trails of dust and debris left behind by comets or asteroids. The Perseids come from a comet called Swift–Tuttle, which orbits the Sun once every 133 years. The comet's dust particles enter Earth's atmosphere at speeds of about 37 miles (59 kilometres) per second.

An annual celestial spectacle on display over the next few nights, but when does it peak? Find out below… Perseid peak is… Tuesday night into early Wednesday marks the peak of this year’s Perseid meteor shower,