A GWENT astronomy enthusiast is encouraging people to take a look up at the skies this week to see one of the oldest known meteor showers.

The Lyrids meteor showers will peak this week, with maximum activity expected today, Wednesday and Thursday as the Earth passes through debris left by the trail of Comet Thatcher.

Records of the shower show it dates back about 2,700 years.

The secretary of the Abergavenny and District Astronomical Society Jonathan Powell said: “Get yourself a nice dark place, away from street lighting and a view of the north east and set up a celestial firework display.

“If the weather is not with you it is not going to happen and this week it is.”

Speaking about the meteor showers, he said: “Generally speaking they are on the bright side so this could be really bright. They are being bigged up in the astronomy world because they are quite bright.”

He recommended visiting Blaenavon if possible to see the showers or anywhere above street lighting, which will distract from the sights from the north west.

The shower is located in the constellation Lyra, near the constellation’s brightest star, Alpha Lyrae, or Vega.

Watching the meteor showers this week will require no optical aid to look at it.

By passing Comet Thatcher’s debris, they do something that will not be seen again on Earth until 2276, when it makes its return.

It last visited our solar system in 1861.

Viewers will be potentially able to see up to 20 shooting stars in the region every hour.

But sightings of the Lyrids from 1982 show they have been 100 per hour.

The reason for the frequency of the shower is unknown.

The Lyrids is a lesser known meteor shower to the Perseid shower.

That will take place in mid-August and is usually the brightest in the year and made up of debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle.

At the shower’s peak, it is possible to see 60 to 100 meteors in an hour in good conditions.

See what the weather will be like for the meteor shower: