Euro Space Centre hosts Night of the Stars as meteor shower peaks

The Euro Space Center is hosting its Night of the Stars events on Thursday evening, offering visitors the chance to see the shower of shooting stars that will fall over Belgium that night.

The event at the space theme park in the Walloon village of Transinne is timed to coincide with the peak of the Perseids, an annual meteor shower that lights up the sky with shooting stars.

"The observation conditions will be ideal to admire not only the shooting stars, but also the nebulae and galaxies under an exceptionally clear sky"

The Euro Space Center is offering "a rare opportunity to observe between 70 and 110 shooting stars per hour". "The observation conditions will be ideal to admire not only the shooting stars, but also the nebulae and galaxies under an exceptionally clear sky," the centre said.

As well as an extraordinary number of shooting stars, Saturn, Jupiter and the Milky Way will be in view on Thursday night. The centre will also host events that combine science and art on the same night, including a theatre show and a musical performance.

The evening begins at 16.30 with a sun observation session, followed by a series of astronomy workshops. From 22.30, visitors are invited to join in the meteor shower observations, thanks to the participation of astronomy clubs who will make their instruments available.

The event is free of charge and no booking is required. Full details are available on the Euro Space Center website.

^{© PHOTO BILL INGALLS/ NASA VIA GETTY IMAGES / AFP}