Debris from an asteroid is on track to produce a vibrant meteor shower in the night sky next week.
The Geminid meteor shower is expected to start reaching its peak at 4 p.m. on Dec. 13, but the best time to see it is at 2 a.m. on Dec. 14, EarthSky reported. The Geminids have already blazed across the skies since Nov. 19 and should continue to until Dec. 24, Christmas Eve.
Instead of coming from a comet, the meteors come from the asteroid Phaethon, Space.com wrote. First seen from a riverboat on the Mississippi River in 1833, the Geminids are considered one of the best meteor showers of the year, displaying the brightest and fastest meteors with 150 meteors per hour when at its peak.
Though the meteors were first spotted in the 19th century, Phaethon was discovered in 1983, according to EarthSky. As it gets close to the sun, it moves past Mars’ orbit and produces debris that intersects with Earth’s orbit every mid-December.
The meteors are seen flying from its radiant, or in the direction of, the constellation Gemini, EarthSky wrote.
What could hamper seeing the meteor shower is the moon, astronomers said. A waxing gibbous moon, with 90% illumination, is expected to be in the night sky during the Geminids’ peak. Because of this, stargazers might only see the brightest meteors instead of 150.
A telescope should not be necessary to spot the meteors during its peak. Go to a dark place, away from any light pollution and bring a warm drink and a sleeping bag to keep warm, EarthSky wrote.
But it could be difficult to see the meteor shower. Boston, Worcester and Springfield could see mostly cloudy skies between Dec. 13 and Dec. 14, AccuWeather forecasted.