Look Up Tonight And You Might See Loads Of Shooting Stars

Ever seen a shooting star while you're pissed? Magical, mate. Absolutely magical.

If you haven't, well get ready to fill your boots. Tonight, when you're on the lash, take a bit of time to step outside into the approaching summer air, take a swig of lager and look to the sky.

A meteor shower called the Eta Aquarid will reportedly be peaking, according to the Daily Mail. It occurs every year towards the end of April and start of May, showing off some majestic shooting stars.

via GIPHY

"The constellation of Aquarius - home to the radiant of the Eta Aquarids - is higher up in the sky in the Southern Hemisphere than it is in the Northern Hemisphere," NASA said in a post on its website. "In the Northern Hemisphere, Eta Aquarid meteors can more often be seen as 'earthgrazers.'"

"Earthgrazers are long meteors that appear to skim the surface of the Earth at the horizon."

This means that the further north you are the lower it'll be in the sky, giving you a decent view on the southern horizon, according to the Mail. Those in the in the southern hemisphere, though, will have a better view.

Credit: PA

Later on this summer you'll also be able to see the annual Perseid meteor shower, which typically happens between July 17 and August 24, but for most of that period there will only be a few visible meteors an hour.

There's said to be up to 100 'shooting stars' lighting up the sky every hour during that shower, whereas the Eta Aquarid will see about 40.

The Perseid shower's optimum point will also coincide with a moonless night, and the darker skies make for an even better viewing experience.

It's caused by debris falling from the tail of comet Swift-Tuttle, which has an orbit of around 130 years. The shooting stars are what we see when small particles enter the earth's atmosphere at about 60km a second, appearing as fast streaks of light in the night sky.

Luckily, for these showers, you won't need any special equipment to see the shower. You won't even need binoculars. You can see the meteors from any point in the sky, just try and get away from big city lights and into a dark, wide open space. Remember to be patient too, as they tend to appear in intermittent spells, with lulls in between.

Mark McGowan

Mark is a journalist at LADbible, who joined in 2015 after a year as a freelance writer. In the past he blogged for independent football fan channel Redmen TV, after graduating from Staffordshire University with degrees in journalism and English literature. He has worked on campaigns such as UOKM8? and IIOC.