Get Ready For The Geminid Meteor Shower Next Week

The Geminid Meteor Shower will peak on December 13 and 14, 2024 (Credit: Jeff Sullivan/ CC-BY-SA-2.0/ Flickr)

With Christmas just around the corner, your neighborhood is likely aglow with beautiful lights. But those displays pale in comparison to nature's dazzling light show — the Geminids. Nicknamed the "900-pound gorilla of meteor showers" by NASA, the Geminids outshine others with dust streams that are 5 to 500 times more massive. The "shooting stars" are also easier to spot because they travel through the skies at about 22 miles (35 km) per second. This is about half the speed of the Perseid meteors, which zip by at about 37 miles (60 km) per second every year in August.

The Geminids are active annually from November 19 to December 24. However, this year's peak performance will be on the night of December 13 into the early hours of December 14. The meteors will be visible starting at 10 or 11 pm local time. But the best time to watch them will be around 2 am local time, when as many as 120 meteors will light up the sky. This year's display might be slightly diminished by the glow of a near-full moon. But experts predict that the bright shooting stars will still be visible.

Illustration showing 3200 Phaethon being heated by the Sun (Credit: NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ IPAC/ Public Domain)

Most meteor showers originate from comets. However, the Geminids are the result of a near-Earth asteroid called 3200 Phaethon. This 3.16-mile (5.1-km) wide space rock orbits the Sun every 1.4 years. As it draws close to the star, its surface temperature soars to about 1500°F (816°C), causing it to release debris the size of sand grains or peas. Over time, these tiny particles have formed a "river of rubble" along the asteroid's path.

Each year in mid-December, Earth passes through this debris during its orbit around the Sun. When the particles collide with our planet's atmosphere, they burn up, creating spectacular "shooting stars." Although it is best visible from the Northern Hemisphere, Geminid meteors can also be seen from the Southern Hemisphere.

An artist's rendition of the debris shed by 3200 Phaethon (Credit: Scott Sutherland/ CC-BY-SA-2.0/ Meteorshowers.org)

For those planning to brave the cold winter night, here are some tips from experts. Dress warmly and try to get as far away as possible from city lights. Most importantly, be patient. It takes 10 to 15 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the darkness, and about the same amount of time to observe a flashing meteor.