The Strongest Meteor Shower of the Year Peaks This Week—Here's How to See the Geminids

One of the strongest and most spectacular meteor showers of the year peaks this week. The Geminid meteor shower, known for its bright shooting stars, began on November 19 and will peak on December 13 to 14, according to EarthSky.org.

This year, the Geminids will peak when the moon is 90 percent illuminated, with a full moon appearing just a few days later on December 15. While the moonlight may make the shooting stars hard to see, Geminid meteors are bright and may still be visible even when competing with a waxing gibbous moon.

Unlike most meteor showers, which originate from comets, the Geminids come from the asteroid 3200 Phaetheon. According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), this asteroid takes 1.4 years to orbit the sun once.

The Geminids will be their most radiant around 2 a.m. local time on December 13 and 14. The best place to enjoy the meteor shower is under a dark sky away from city or street lights. These meteors are best seen in the northern hemisphere, but they can also be visible in a smaller capacity from the southern hemisphere.

If you don't catch the meteor shower at its peak, you may still be able to glimpse the Geminids until December 24.