December features the longest nights of the year, as well as the official change of season from Fall to Winter, and the final month of 2022 is packed with astronomical happenings. One of those highly anticipated by stargazers is the Geminid Meteor Shower.
A myriad of shooting stars are set to streak through the sky on the night of Tuesday, December 13, into the early hours of Wednesday, December 14, as the Geminid meteor shower peaks.
The Geminid meteor shower is considered to be the most active meteor shower of the year with onlookers in dark areas typically able to count over 100 meteors per hour, although hourly rates could be reduced this year as the moon will be glowing in the sky throughout most of the night of the peak.
Meteors can be seen shortly after nightfall as the highly anticipated event is one of the few annual meteor showers that are active in the evening. However, you’ll want to get your telescopes ready on December 14, when the height of the meteor activity is likely to be centered in the early morning hours (around 2:00AM, depending on your time zone).
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