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The first of two meteor showers this month will peak this weekend, with up to 120 Geminid meteors shooting across the sky every hour on Sunday night.
The 2020 Geminid meteor shower is expected to be one of the most dramatic celestial displays of the year and visible around the world, although those in the Northern Hemisphere will get the best presentation.
The peak will coincide with the new moon in December, which means that the night sky will be especially dark for sky watchers to enjoy the show.
Meteors burning through Earth’s atmosphere, commonly known as “shooting stars,” will be visible until December 16, but will be most prolific on the night of December 13 and the early morning of December 14.
The best time to see them is generally around 2am, when the sky is darkest.
Geminid meteors are one of the many wonders of the night sky in December. Next week will see a total solar eclipse pass over South America, while December 21 will host a trio of astronomical events.
The penultimate Monday of 2020 is the shortest day and longest night of the year, known as the winter solstice, and will welcome the peak of the Ursid meteors and something known as the Great Conjunction.
Up to 120 meteors from the Geminid shower will light up the UK night sky on Sunday
(Fake images)
This is when the two largest planets in our Solar System, Jupiter and Saturn, are 0.1 degrees from each other.
The weather on Sunday night in the UK for the Geminid meteor shower will be relatively favorable, according to forecasts from the Met Office.
There will be scattered clouds in the west of the country, while the best conditions will be in the southeast, Midlands and northeast.
Advice from professional astronomers and photographers to get the best view of meteors is to go to an area with as little light pollution as possible and allow up to 45 minutes for the eyes to adjust to the dark.
