Geminids: How to watch the shower of shooting stars that will light up the sky this Wednesday evening?

An early Christmas gift for all astronomy lovers. Like every December, the Geminids come to light up skies around the world, even if the spectacle is more beautiful from the northern hemisphere, to the great delight of onlookers.

This shower of shooting stars, which began on December 4, will last until December 17, and maximum activity is expected on the night of the 13th to the 14th, that is, from Wednesday evening. These particularly bright shooting stars, which take their name from the constellation Gemini, number in the dozens every hour.

NASA also considers this annual meteor shower “one of the best and most reliable” and says that at its peak we can see up to 120 shooting stars per hour in ideal conditions. By ideal conditions, the US space agency means clear skies while staying as far away from light pollution as possible, i.e. city lights and street lamps.

No equipment is required to monitor them.

The Geminids begin to be observed around 21:00. You don’t need a telescope or other special equipment to get a good look at them, although you might want to remember to cover yourself this December. Simply lie on your back with your feet facing south and look up to admire the sky with as clear a field of view as possible, says NASA.

After 30 minutes in the dark, “your eyes will adapt and you will begin to see meteors,” the US space agency adds. Adventure seekers can enjoy the show until dawn.

Unlike most meteor showers that come from comets, the Geminids originate from an asteroid called 3200 Phaethon. These shooting stars are fragments of this asteroid that collide with our atmosphere, break up, and create the colorful streaks we see in the sky.

According to NASA, most of these particles that cross the sky will be yellow, but according to Royal Museums Greenwich they can be green, red or blue, as well as white.