Meteor shower over King Charles III stately home - stunning images captured of Dumfries House in Scotland

The meteor shower happened over the stately home of King Charles III, Dumfries House, which is used for a range of education and training opportunities, and it is open to the public all year round.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

One lucky member of the public was fortunate enough to capture the moment a stunning meteor shower occurred over a residence owned by King Charles III. The meteor shower happened over the 18th-century Dumfries House in Scotland.

The event was pictured by Craig McComb, who took the photos on Thursday (December 15). The series of images took a little while to capture, with the father-of-four behind the lens between 9.15pm and 11.45pm.

The 42-year-old, who works as a joiner, took the photos during sub-zero temperatures. During the shoot the mercury reached as low as -11C.

Craig said: “The meteor shower peaked that night. Normally I go for a walk then come back. I set it all up and was on a set of steps and stood behind the camera for two-and-a-half hours.

"I took around 250 shots. You have to make sure the camera gear does not freeze up so I’ve got a lens heater. It’s good to get out.

"The meteor shower peaked around 10pm. The picture isn’t edited in Photoshop but you stick the images on top of each other. Everything rotates around the North Star."

What is a meteor shower?

Describing how a meteor shower occurs, space website Cool Cosmos, states: “As a comet travels close to the Sun, it heats up and part of the comet vaporises. After a comet has orbited the Sun many times, a lot of small pieces of the comet are left along the comet’s path.

“A meteor shower happens when Earth passes through the path of a comet. When this happens, the bits of comet debris, most no larger than a grain of sand, create streaks of light in the night sky as they burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.

“Bits of debris which enter Earth’s atmosphere are called meteors. On any night, there are several small meteors which shoot across the sky.

“However, during a meteor shower, tens to hundreds of meteors can be seen each hour. Many of these meteor showers can be predicted and occur at the same time each year.”