The Perseid meteor shower in August often catches the headlines because of the warmer conditions associated with watching the display, but to many astronomers the Geminids put on the better show.
The Geminids have been active since 4 December and they reach their climax this week with the peak of the shower taking place on the night of 13-14 December. The chart shows the view looking south-east from London at midnight as 13 December becomes 14 December.
The meteors will appear to shoot in all directions from a point, known as the radiant, close to the star Castor in the constellation of Gemini, the twins. Observers can expect to see more than 100 meteors an hour when watching from a dark, rural location well away from any street lights.
Unlike most meteor showers, which derive from the tails of comets, the Geminids are created by dust that has been ejected from the asteroid 3200 Phaethon.
Jupiter will also be nearby this year and brilliantly bright because it is drawing near to its closest approach to Earth, which will occur in January.
The Geminids are best seen from the northern hemisphere, but observers south of the equator can see them after the radiant rises at about midnight.
