Overview
- Activity builds after about 10 p.m. local time on Dec. 13 and typically tops out before a 2–2:30 a.m. moonrise, offering prime viewing in the late evening to early morning window.
- Under very dark skies near peak, observers may see roughly 120–150 meteors per hour, though light pollution can cut counts dramatically.
- The radiant sits in Gemini near Castor and Pollux, yielding higher rates in the Northern Hemisphere as the radiant climbs through the night.
- Geminid meteors often appear bright and colored because they come from dense rocky material; early evening can feature long-skimming “earthgrazers.”
- If clouds threaten the peak, AMS reports the nights of Dec. 12–13 and 11–12 can still produce about 75% and 50% of maximum rates, with a quick drop after the 13–14 peak and the Ursids due Dec. 21–22.