Geminid Meteor Shower: Where to Look and When to See it in the Night Sky

Don’t go to bed Thursday night until you go outside a look up to see the 2013 Geminid meteor shower. The meteor shower is expected to peak starting just after midnight Thursday the 12th (into the early hours of Friday the 13th).

Friday night into early Saturday (14th) morning should also provide a good view of the Geminid meteor shower as well, in case you can’t stay up late on Thursday night. There will be some meteors to see in the evening hours, but the most intense parts of the shower will hit around midnight each day.



The annual Geminid meteor shower is caused by the Earth passing through the orbit of asteroid 3200 Phaethon as it transitions around the sun. Each time 3200 Phaethon passes close to the sun, more of its debris trail is shed into space – eventually plunging into our atmosphere at up to 80,000 miles per hour – creating a great show in the night sky.

Wondering how to watch the Geminid meteors? The good news is that you don’t need any telescopes or binoculars for this, just a clear view of the night sky – the darker the better – so try to get away from city lights.

The meteors typicall appear to come from the direction of the constellation Gemini, hence the name of the Geminid Meteor Shower. By midnight, the constellation will be nearing the top of the sky transitioning from East to West.

So if you go out after midnight, look up high in the Western sky, or lie down in a lawn chair or on the ground facing west and just stare up at the sky and you should be able to see the Geminid Meteor shower very well.

Jupiter will follow the path of the constellation through the night, and as the 3rd brightest object in the sky, should give you a goo reference point.