Clouds spoil view of meteor shower

Scores of amateur astronomers hoping to witness a dazzling Perseid meteor shower have been disappointed after half of the country was covered by clouds.
The phenomenon, which happens each summer as the Earth's orbit takes it through debris scattered by the tail of Comet Swift-Tuttle, had been due to reach its peak in the early hours of Thursday.
But skygazers in the south of England were left disappointed as clouds gathered.
"There are different times of the year when you can see meteor showers but August is normally the best time because that's when the skies are clearest," said a spokesman for the National Trust, who published a guide to the top sites to witness the event.
"Rural areas and wide open spaces are the best. It's just unfortunate that the southern part of Britain seems to have been shrouded in cloud."
Matt Dobson, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, the weather arm of the Press Association, said skygazers in northern England and Scotland may have had a clearer view.
"There's a north-south split from North Wales, to Birmingham and then to East Anglia", he said.
"South of that there's a lot of cloud around and very little chance of seeing any clear spells. There's a much better chance of seeing it in the north."
Skywatchers - some armed with telescopes and binoculars - were hoping to enjoy a display that could see as many as 50 to 80 meteors streaking overhead every hour.
The Newbury Astronomical Society said it was hoping to make it a global social event with the help of the Twitter networking site.