The Most Spectacular Meteor Shower of the Year Peaks Tonight — With Up to 150 Shooting Stars Per Hour

13.12.2024 - 16:57 / travelandleisure.com

A bit of holiday magic may be coming early this year as the Geminid meteor shower, one of the year's best, is about to peak Friday night.

And even though light may be drowned out by the full moon, there's still a very good chance to see shooting stars as the Geminids are known to produce some bright meteors.

Ready to stay up? Here's everything you need to know about seeing one of the most impressive meteor showers of the year.

The Geminid meteor shower occurs annually in December; this year, it runs from Dec. 2 to Dec. 21, with a peak Friday night (Dec. 13 into the morning of Dec. 14), per the American Meteor Society (AMS).

This meteor shower is a little unusual — according to Space.com, they come from an asteroid, not a comet, as most meteor showers do. As the Earth crosses the trail of the asteroid 3200 Phaethon on its journey around the sun, little bits of the asteroid burn up in our atmosphere, creating meteors, or shooting stars. The Geminds are typically one of the most prolific meteor showers of the year, with rates of up to 150 meteors per hour.

The Geminids are visible all around the world, but they're best seen from the northern hemisphere. The meteors can show up anywhere in the sky, but they'll all appear as if they're emanating from the direction of the constellation Gemini, for which the meteor shower is named.

The best advice for viewing any meteor shower is to get as far away from light pollution as possible. Once you've gotten somewhere dark, let your eyes adjust to the darkness for a minimum of 15 to 20 minutes (though at least 30 is even better), and look up. You won't need any special equipment like a telescope or binoculars — you'll want to get the widest view of the night sky as you can, which is best done with the naked eye.

Be prepared to exercise some patience this year, as only the brightest meteors will be able to compete with the light pollution from the moon. Thus you might not see as many shooting stars as you would in a darker sky. But because the Geminids are so prolific and generally quite bright, you still have a sporting chance to see shooting stars tonight.

Fortunately, you won't have to wait long for the next meteor shower. The Ursids, according to AMS, will peak on the night of Dec. 22 into the morning of Dec. 23, though they're a far less prolific show than the Geminids. Expect rates of around 10 meteors per hour.