THE skies above Gwent are set to be lit up by the hundreds of shooting stars this week, as the annual Perseids meteor shower reaches its peak.

With no binoculars or telescope required and good weather forecast, Wednesday night will give a perfect opportunity to see some brilliant shooting stars.

The north eastern sky will be the scene for 60 to 90 shooting stars per hour, as the Earth passes through the debris left by Comet Swift-Tuttle.

As the Earth passes through a dense part of debris, that number could rise to up to 200 per hour.

The debris, ranging from specs of dust to fist size stones, will strike our upper atmosphere at a speed of 70,000 mph, the friction of contact burning the rubble up into streaks of light across the sky.