Overview
- Activity is forecast to crest overnight December 13–14, with the nominal maximum around 09:00 CET on Sunday, and elevated rates through the pre‑dawn hours.
- Under dark skies observers could see roughly 100–150 meteors per hour at peak, though light pollution and cloud cover typically cut visible counts to far fewer.
- The Moon rises at about 2:30 a.m. and is waning, so lunar glare should have little impact on visibility this year.
- Forecasters at the German Weather Service expect widespread fog and high stratus in lowlands, with the best chances above roughly 800–900 meters in areas such as the Hochschwarzwald, Hochalb, the Alps, and possibly the Harz and Nordeifel; northern Germany may also fare better.
- Look toward the constellation Gemini—using Castor and Pollux with bright Jupiter nearby as guides—as the shower’s radiant sits there, and expect relatively slow, often bright meteors from debris linked to asteroid 3200 Phaethon.