Geminid meteor shower peaks this Wednesday

The Geminid meteor shower will peak this Wednesday night, and it could be one of the best meteor showers of the year!

This meteor shower is one a few that produces meteors throughout the entire night, but the best time to view will be between midnight and 4 a.m. Thursday. Up to 50 meteors could be seen during the height of the Geminids. You could see even more if you head out to a rural area with limited city lights. A telescope will not be needed.

When you head out Wednesday night look south towards the constellation Gemini. These meteors last longer and are a tad bit brighter than other meteor showers during the year.

Viewing for the Geminids will be much better this December due to a smaller crescent moon. A supermoon actually made the meteors much harder to see last year. Right now we could see a few clouds late Wednesday night, but overall clouds shouldn't be widespread.

The Geminds radiate from the Gemini constellation and that's how they got their name. They appear ever year when the earth passes through the debris of an asteroid named Phaethon. That debris lights up as it passes through earth's atmosphere allowing us to see shooting stars.