Here's how you can watch an awesome meteor shower tonight

At about this point every year, the comet Swift-Tuttle (no, not a new pop start dating rumour) passes through our orbit path and deposits a fat tail of cosmic dust in its wake.

Tonight, the Earth is set to plough through the thickest part of this interstellar skid mark, showering our outer atmosphere with a spectacle known as the Perseid meteor shower. Up to 100 'shooting stars' will be visible every hour between 11pm and 4am, thanks to a relatively dark waning moon and an added boost from the gravity of Jupiter.

So, where should you be looking?

The bad news first: the Met Office is forecasting a cloudy night for much of the south and extreme north of the country. For the best view of this galactic fireworks display, you'll want to get yourself away from any urban lights and head anywhere north of Birmingham and south of Edinburgh.

From 11pm, keep your eyes north-east - directly at the Perseus constellation if you can find it (it's a little to the left of the Pegasus constellation). For some help, try downloading an astronomy app, such as Pocket Universe or Night Sky Pro.

For more details on the shower and what to expect, check out this informative video from the chaps at NASA.

Happy gazing, and be sure to make plenty of wishes. If you're weird like that.