A photographer has captured this stunning footage of the Perseid meteor shower over Dorset. 

Martin Dolan spent the whole night at Agglestone Rock in Studland taking a timelapse video of the meteor shower.

He said the spectacle was “amazing” and “breathtaking”.

“It was the first time I’ve shot a timelapse of a meteor shower – I’ve done ones of the Milky Way before.

“I was the only person at Agglestone Rock. It’s very otherworldly and a great place to see the spectacle – although light pollution from Swanage did prove a bit of an issue.

“I set up the camera at 10.30pm and an exposure was taken every 25 seconds. There are a total of 437 photos stitched together in the timelaspse, which were taken over a four hour period.

“While the camera did its thing, I took shots of the meteor shower with my other camera. You can see the flashes of light from my camera in the video – I think it adds something though.”

Stargazers had their eyes to the skies after being told they could see up to 200 shooting stars per hour. 

Clear skies made for perfect viewing conditions on Thursday night as the Perseid meteor shower reached its peak. 

The Perseid meteor shower is one of the year's best known showers.

The annual spectacular officially started on July 17 and runs until August 24, but is set to reach its climax between Thursday and Saturday. 

A potential Perseid "outburst" meant there could people could see between 150 to 200 shooting stars predicted per hour. 

The meteor shower is named after Perseus, the point within the constellation from which it appears to originate.

The best time to spot the display is between 1am and before the onset of dawn.

You won’t need a telescope or binoculars, as the display will be visible to the naked eye but you should allow around 20 minutes for your eyes to become accustomed to the dark.

The Perseids are one of the most prolific and best-known of the meteor showers. They were the first to be connected with a comet when astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli noted the relationship between their orbit and that of Comet Swift-Tuttle in 1862.

Meteors, commonly known as shooting stars, are the result of small particles entering the Earth's atmosphere at high speed. These heat the air around them, causing the characteristic streak of light seen from the ground.

They mostly appear as fleeting flashes lasting less than a second, but the brightest ones leave behind trails of vaporised gases and glowing air molecules that may take a few seconds to fade.

Six of the best places to see the meteor shower:

1. Corfe Castle

2. Knowlton Church

3. Durdle Door

4. Horton Tower 

5. Durlston Country Park

6. The New Forest 

Did you get a photo? You can send your pictures or video footage to digital@bournemouthecho.co.uk