After dark, I lost hours counting falling stars beneath the dotted canopy of the Milky Way, its sparkling dome mirrored in the placid waters below.

BBC: Safari by water in southern Africa

One suggestion is that the bursts are caused by the mergers of neutron stars, or by neutron stars falling into black holes.

ECONOMIST: A symphony in gamma major

These rare months of tranquility in emerging markets owe a lot to two stars falling into temporary alignment: strong growth and easy money.

ECONOMIST: The Fund's golden Rato

If a Meteor Shower is big enough you might think all the stars are falling from Heaven.

FORBES: 'Doomsday Asteroid' Bigger Than Expected

Sport and stars notwithstanding, ratings are likely to go on falling, not just because of new television services, but also because television viewing is falling as children and teenagers increasingly spend time on computer games and the Internet.

ECONOMIST: The BBC