The Geminid meteor shower is upon us and might be one of the best ever

Author: Kendall Trammell, CNN
Published: Updated:
A photographer looks at the sky at night in northern Italy during the 2015 Geminid meteor shower. (Photo via CNN)

If you’re looking for a fantastic light show, all you need to do is look up.

The annual Geminid meteor shower is one of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year — and this year, it’s expected to be especially impressive.

“With August’s Perseids obscured by bright moonlight, the Geminids will be the best shower this year,” said Bill Cooke, with NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office, in a news release. “The thin, waning crescent moon won’t spoil the show.”

But there’s another reason why the Geminids are special.

MORE: Perseid meteor shower ‘warm-up act’ for this month’s eclipse

Most meteor showers are caused by comets. The Geminids are associated with an asteroid called the 3200 Phaethon. Having an asteroid as the foundation of a meteor shower provides an excellent source of dust grains that will burn up as they dive into the Earth’s atmosphere, according to NASA. That’s why some researchers call Phaethon a “rock comet.”

The meteor shower was named after the constellation Gemini because many of the meteors appear to come from that constellation. You can use apps like as Sky Guide for iOS and Sky Map for Android to help find it.

The Geminids can be seen all around the world. No matter where you are viewing, NASA says the meteor shower will reach its peak between 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday and dawn Thursday morning, with the most meteors visible from midnight to 4 a.m.

MORE: Perseids meteor shower to light up night sky

Even with this year’s great weather conditions, you’ll still want to get far away from city lights for optimal viewing. If you’re watching under a clear and dark sky, Sky & Telescope magazine predicts you could see a meteor every minute or two on average.

If you don’t want to go outside, you can watch it online. Here are few options.

WINK News shared a live stream from NASA Wednesday night on Facebook:

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