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A meteor shower could be visible from the UK this weekend with dozens of shooting stars streaking across the sky.
The Draconid meteor shower spawns from the comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, which rounds the sun every 6.6 years, and occurs every year in October.
On Saturday and Sunday, there is a reasonable chance of earth passing through a swarm of debris left in the comet's wake, leading to meteors which appear as bright shooting stars when they enter the atmosphere and burn up.
The meteor shower is most likely to be visible in the direction of the constellation of Draco, the Dragon, in the northern sky, just before nightfall.
The best way to observe meteors is with the naked eye rather than through binoculars or a telescope, with astronomers advising stargazers in the UK to pick rural areas with minimal light pollution.
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PA
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Ye et al/Current Biology
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Reuters
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A. Gennari
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Steven G Johnson
Science news in pictures Giant bee spotted Feared extinct, the Wallace's Giant bee has been spotted for the first time in nearly 40 years. An international team of conservationists spotted the bee, that is four times the size of a typical honeybee, on an expedition to a group of Indonesian Islands
Clay Bolt
Science news in pictures New mammal species found inside crocodile Fossilised bones digested by crocodiles have revealed the existence of three new mammal species that roamed the Cayman Islands 300 years ago. The bones belonged to two large rodent species and a small shrew-like animal
New Mexico Museum of Natural History
Science news in pictures Fabric that changes according to temperature created Scientists at the University of Maryland have created a fabric that adapts to heat, expanding to allow more heat to escape the body when warm and compacting to retain more heat when cold
Faye Levine, University of Maryland
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Science news in pictures Nobel prize for evolution chemists The nobel prize for chemistry has been awarded to three chemists working with evolution. Frances Smith is being awarded the prize for her work on directing the evolution of enzymes, while Gregory Winter and George Smith take the prize for their work on phage display of peptides and antibodies
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Reuters/AP
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Viktor Radermacher / SWNS
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ESO/A. Müller et al
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José Iriarte
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Science news in pictures Nasa releases stunning images of Jupiter's great red spot The storm bigger than the Earth, has been swhirling for 350 years. The image's colours have been enhanced after it was sent back to Earth.
Pictures by: Tom Momary
Viewers in North America, Europe and Asia or in countries close to the equator are expected to have the best vantage point.
A second meteor shower, the Orionids, will also take place later this month, peaking on 21 October.
PA
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