THE chance to see shooting stars comes to the Isle of Man again later this week with one of the smaller meteor showers caused by the tail of Halley’s Comet.

Known as the Aquarid shower, it will be visible in the early morning on Friday, May 6 and will appear from the direction of the constellation Aquarius.

The tail of dust from Halley’s Comet covers an enormous distance and the comet itself is currently a huge distance away from earth, on the other side of Neptune. It won’t be back in our skies until 2061.

However, astronomers predict there will definitely be some shooting stars to see, although not in such big numbers as the Geminids, the Perseids and the Leonids - the three major annual meteor storms.

The tail of dust crosses paths with earth, but you will have to be up early to see the meteors as it’s only fully dark until around 5am at present as the long summer days get closer.

Hopefully, the glorious weather of the last few weeks will continue with crystal clear night skies. Fingers crossed.

There is no need for a telescope to see shooting stars; they are visible with the naked eye. Watch from somewhere with no street lights, preferably on a hill or high ground with unobstructed vision of the sky.

A flask of tea or coffee also makes sense - and some warm clothes. It’s still only the beginning of May.