Meteor shower to light up Britain NEXT WEEK: Incredible shooting stars will fall like RAIN #CarryGobySeanKellz #FutureGroupNG via @i_amreginaldjr

ONE of the brightest meteor showers in years will produce spectacular fireworks in the skies over Britain next week.

A spectacular meteor shower will illuminate the night skies over Britain next week[GETTY]

The Lyrids Meteor Shower, which began last night, will reach its peak in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
In an impressive display of nature's raw power and beauty, 15 to 20 meteors per hour will slam into the atmosphere at nearly 110,000 miles per hour.
The ancient phenomenon - which has been happening for the last 2,600 years - is caused by Earth's annual crossing of the path of Comet Thatcher, more formally known as C/1861 G1.
At the shower's most intense, up to 200 meteors per hour will enter our atmosphere.

Up to 200 meteors an hour will smash into earth's atmosphere at 110,000mph [GETTY]

The best thing to do in the meteor shower is to go out there, lie on your back and look straight up

NASA meteor shower expert Bill Cooke

But it's nothing to worry about. Despite the incredible light show, most of the meteors will be no bigger than a grain of sand and burn up in less than a second.
Nasa spokesman Tony Phillips said: "A typical Lyrid shower produces 10 to 20 meteors per hour over the northern hemisphere.
"But occasionally, Earth will pass through a dense region of the comet's tail and the rates will increase five to ten-fold.
"Flakes of comet dust will strike Earth's atmosphere and disintegrate as fast streaks of light."

 

On Tuesday above Britain, if there are clear skies, much of the country will be able to see bright streaks of light - what we know as shooting stars - moving across a small area of sky.
The brightest meteors will leave a train of fading light that will be visible for several seconds.
The best place to see the meteor shower will be deep in the countryside, where light pollution is at its lowest, between 1 and 2am on Tuesday morning.
No special equipment is needed, but experts recommend lying down and looking directly upwards to maximise your field of vision.

Some of the meteors may turn into spectacular fireballs as they burn up [GETTY]

NASA meteor shower expert Bill Cooke added: "While the Lyrid meteor shower appears to radiate outward from the constellation Lyra, looking straight at the constellation isn't a good idea.
"The last thing you want to do is look at Lyra, which is the direction of the radiant, because the meteors in that direction have very short tails and will appear as a dot to you.
"The best thing to do with any meteor shower is to go out there, lie on your back and look straight up."

The best place to watch the meteor shower is deep in the countryside [GETTY]

The Lyrids were first described in 687 BC by Chinese astronomers as "stars that fell like rain".
As for Comet Thatcher, she was last seen in 1861 and won't be visiting the Earth's section of the Solar System again for another 300 years.
Major Lyrid outbursts - spectacular displays of light caused by huge numbers of meteors entering the atmosphere - have been recorded in 1803, 1922, and 1982.
Many minor Lyrid outbursts have also occurred in recent years.