If you're an avid stargazer, we've got some exciting news for you. One of the best annual meteor showers will light up our skies very soon and it's looking like it'll be quite a magical display. The Geminids meteor shower is one of the final celestial spectacles for the year and it's one worth seeing.
While most meteor showers are the result of a comet, the Geminids come from debris shed by 3200 Phaethon, a five-kilometre-wide asteroid that discards matter as it moves past Earth in space. It first appeared in the mid-1800s, but it wasn't considered particularly notable at the time, offering just ten to 20 meteors per hour at its peak. The Geminids have grown considerably in scale over the centuries, today offering upwards of 120 meteors per hour in perfect conditions and often considered one of the best and most reliable annual meteor showers, according to NASA.
This year, they'll be visible in Melbourne from December 7 to 17, with a peak occurring on the night of December 13 to the morning of December 14. The visibility of the meteors can vary, but we're in luck this time around. The new moon this month means that the skies will be darker, making for an excellent show.
For more advice on how to see the Geminids, head here.