GEMINID METEOR SHOWER TO LOOK OUT FOR TONIGHT!

BY CATHY NICOLE CARR

Hundreds of spectacular shooting stars can be seen from the UK over the next couple of nights.

This particular shower occurs when the Geminids' orbit brings the 3200 Phaethon asteroid close to the Sun. It's surface material fractures and breaks away, causing this beautiful phenomenon to occur.

The meteors are visible in our sky every mid-December, as the earth passes through this debris once a year.

It is named for the Gemini constellation from which it always appears.

The shower is best viewed from the Northern Hemisphere, which is excellent news for space fans in the UK.

It's visible from the 4th-20th December, but will peak over the next two evenings of the 13th and 14th, meaning that you might see as many as 120 meteors an hour.

The meteors are also in a variety of colours, so this really should be a spectacular sight!

Geminid Meteor Shower