WGOLV One of the best meteor showers of the year is peaking tonight into the early hours of Friday, December 13th.
Tonight's Geminid meteor shower is considered to be one of the best meteor showers of the year because the meteors are bright and plentiful, according to Accuweather.
Typically, it displays up to 120 meteors per hour, but in 2024, a nearly full moon will overshadow many of the fainter meteors.
The Geminid meteor shower is most visible from the Northern Hemisphere, though it can also be seen from the Southern Hemisphere.
Photo via Unsplash
Meteor showers are named after the constellation from which their meteors appear to come, with the upcoming event associated with Gemini.
Gemini is relatively simple to identify in the night sky; it lies to the northeast of Orion and between the constellations Taurus and Cancer. The constellation is distinguished by its two brightest stars, Castor and Pollux, which symbolize the heads of the Gemini twins.
How to spot the meteors:
To spot Geminid meteors, you don’t need to look directly at the constellation. The meteors will be visible throughout the entire night sky with the first shooting stars appearing not long after nightfall.
Due to the nearly full moon, stargazers are advised to look for meteors in darker areas where the moon is out of sight.
There is one final meteor shower of the year following the Geminids.
The Ursids will reach their peak from the night of December 21 to the morning of December 22. However, this event will not be as spectacular as the Geminids, as it typically produces only about 10 meteors per hour.