Geminid Meteor Shower Promises Dazzling Nights For Viewers

If you’re someone who loves a good sky show, you’ll want to pay attention to this one. The Geminid Meteor Shower is approaching, and this year it promises to be a great one to watch. The best time to see it will be the night of December 13th, going into the early morning hours of December 14th.

The experts at the International Meteor Organization say the meteor shower should hit its peak around 2 a.m. for us here in Minnesota.

WHAT YOU WILL SEE DURING THIS METEOR SHOWER WILL SHOCK YOU

What will you see during the peak? Possibly as many as 120 meteors an hour! That’s a lot of shooting stars, and it’s one of the reasons this particular meteor shower is such a big deal every year.

The moon will be pretty dim that night. Only about 23% lit, and it won’t come up until later in the morning. That’s good for all of us, because a bright moon can wash out the sky and make it harder to see anything. This year, the darker sky should make those streaks of light easier to spot.

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WEEKEND SKY WATCHING IS ALWAYS THE BEST KIND

Even better, this all falls on a weekend, so more people will be able to stay up late or set their alarms super early without worrying about work the next day.

If the weather doesn’t cooperate on Saturday night and it ends up being cloudy, you still have another chance on Sunday night. The meteor shower will still be happening, but you just might not see as many.

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IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A SLOW BURN- THIS IS IT!

One of the neat things about the Geminids is that the meteors tend to be slower and brighter than usual. Some people even see different colors in them.

So where do these meteors come from? They come from a strange space rock called 3200 Phaethon, which acts a little like an asteroid and a little like a comet. As tiny pieces of that rock hit our atmosphere and burn up, they create the glowing streaks we see in the sky. Sometimes you might even catch a really bright one, called a fireball.

LOOKING FOR THE BEST TIME TO WATCH THE METEOR SHOWER?

If you want to start watching early, you can head outside around 7 p.m. local time, but the real action usually picks up later. As the constellation Gemini rises higher in the sky, more meteors tend to show up. Around that same time, you might also notice Jupiter shining in the northeast, along with the winter constellation Orion.

WHERE IS THE BEST PLACE TO VIEW THIS METEOR SHOWER?

For the best view, it helps to move away from streetlights and find a darker spot to sit back and watch. Just be careful not to wander onto private property.

Bundle up, grab a blanket, and enjoy the show. It’s one of the best sky events of the year!