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People throughout history have looked to the skies for portents during troubled times, and those looking from the gutter to the stars later tonight are in for a treat as a meteor phenomenon reaches its peak while Jupiter and the Moon appear near each other in the sky.

The Geminid meteor shower, which peaks tonight, is the best shooting star display of the year, according to David Moore, chairman of Astronomy Ireland. The meteor shower will go on all night, with spotters able to avail of the long period of darkness at this time of year, although Mr Moore said more shooting stars would be seen toward dawn or by those getting up early in the morning.

The peak in meteor activity tonight will see some 20 times more than average, or up to 100 an hour from the normal five- to six-an-hour rate. Astronomy Ireland is asking people across the country to watch out for the shooting stars, record how many they see every 15 minutes and notify the organisation of their findings.