Skygazers are to have their weekend brightened with celestial fireworks on Saturday night thanks to a passing meteor shower.

The Draconid meteor shower takes place every year when the Earth passes through a cloud of comet dust.

Named after the constellation Draco the dragon, the Draconids is one of two meteor showers expected to light up skies over the UK in October.

The meteor shower is expected to peak on Saturday afternoon (October 8) but the best time to see it, say experts, will be in the evening just after sunset.

With the right conditions, the streaks from the comet comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, may be able to be seen at a rate of about 10 every hour.

Tania de Sales Marques, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, told the PA news agency: “The Draconids are a short-lived meteor shower that is active from October 6-10 and is expected to peak at around 2pm UK time with a maximum rate of 10 meteors per hour.

"Draco will be at its highest point in the sky after sunset on the 8th, in the direction of North, however, the full moon will also be up, brightening up the sky and making it hard to spot the fainter meteors."

The meteor shower will be visible with the naked eye, with no need for binoculars or telescopes, but those hoping to catch the display will need to head outside with enough time to spare to let their eyes adjust to the darkness first.

"Like with any other sky-watching activity, make sure to have an unobstructed view of the sky, as far away from sources of light as possible.

"Remember to dress warmly now that the evenings are colder and wait about 15-20 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark before looking out for meteors" added Tania.

Last month avid space fans were treated to spectacular views of Jupiter when it came extremely close to Earth.

A second meteor shower, the Orionids, will also take place later this month, peaking on October 21.