Poor weather conditions are expected to hamper vision of the most spectacular meteor shower of the year above Ireland tonight.
Astronomers are gathering at various locations around the country from 8pm tonight to watch fragments of an asteroid slamming into the Earth's atmosphere.
However with rain expected across the country overnight, Met Éireann says the chances of seeing anything are "slim".
If lucky, observers looking to the heavens will see bright streaks in the sky, one roughly every 20 to 30 seconds, according to Astronomy Ireland.
The 'shooting stars' occur when pea-sized fragments of a five kilometre-wide asteroid collide with the atmosphere at 35 kilometres per second, burning up at heights of up to 100 kilometres.
"This is the best meteor shower of the year, with two or three blazing across the skies each minute; a spectacular sight," said Astronomy Ireland chairman David Moore.
Watches have been organised in Cos Dublin, Carlow, Clare, Cork, Dundalk, Clonmel, Waterford and Wexford.