Meteors and comet to bring celestial light show to Britain

HUNDREDS of meteors and a ‘Christmas Comet’ are expected to continue lighting up the night sky.

The skies over Britain will erupt in a seasonal light display this weekend with an estimated 80 shooting stars an hour passing through the Earth’s atmosphere.

The streaks of coloured light are the debris of the Geminid meteors burning up in the planet’s atmosphere.

The Geminid meteors originate from a rocky asteroid known as 3200 Phaethon, and each year the Earth passes through a trail of debris left by the asteroid as it circles the Sun.

Geminids travel slower at about 35km per second and burn brighter than most other meteors - creating long, glowing arcs of white, yellow, blue, red and green.

The meteor shower is expected to be visible in clear skies until Monday.

But the meteors are not the only part of the celestial Christmas light display, with Comet Wirtanen – dubbed the Christmas Comet – passing the Earth this weekend, too.