Gem of a Meteor Shower on Tap This Weekend

Break out a lawnchair and a warm coat for a December meteor shower.

Photo of a star streak in the sky over a house.

A shooting star streaks across the sky during the summer Perseid meteor shower. The Geminid meteor shower this weekend may best it.

PHOTOGRAPH BY DENNIS DI CICCO, SKY AND TELESCOPE

Andrew Fazekas

for National Geographic

PUBLISHED DECEMBER 11, 2014

Kick off the holiday season with celestial fireworks, stargazers, with the weekend's peak of the annual Geminidmeteor shower.

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Despite a bright quarter moon rising around midnight this year, the meteors should dash across the sky at a rate of anywhere from 20 to 60 per hour on December 13 and 14, if clouds and weather permit a glimpse of the starry shooters.

Noted for their numbers, the Geminids are among the strongest and most reliable sky shows around, even at times besting August's famed Perseids. (See "Meteor Madness" to learn more about meteors.)

If clear skies prevail, head for the dark countryside far from the bright city lights to see the most shooting stars. But even suburbanites should get to see at least some of the biggest and brightest meteors zipping across the sky, around one every three minutes or so.