The Geminid meteor shower is the favorite of most meteor observers as it usually provides the strongest display of the year. On the peak night (December 13/14) between the hours of 1:00 and 2:00am local standard time (LST), an observer located in mid-northern latitudes under clear skies has the opportunity to view at least 75 Geminid meteors.

Most major showers peak in the early morning hours. While that's also true of the Geminids, the shower offers something others don't: an evening matinee. You can spot a modest number of meteors visible starting as early as 9 p.m. because the radiant already stands some 30° high in the eastern sky. A fair number of shower members are cut off by the horizon at that time, but more of us are likely to go out and share it with our children in the evening as opposed to waking before dawn. Since Geminids travel at moderate to slow speeds and approach us from a low angle at that hour, they can produce brilliant and long-lasting fireballs.

Weather permitting, 2017 should be a great year for observing the Geminids, with peak activity due to occur during the night of Dec 13-14 (Wed-Thurs). Geminid rates will also be quite high during the night of Dec 12-13 and also fairly good during the nights of Dec 11-12 and Dec 14-15, but do be aware that rates drop off quite steeply in the nights after maximum.

Geminid meteors can be seen at any time of the night, with the numbers seen increasing as the evening progresses and peaking at around 2am local time.

A good fraction of Geminid meteors are bright. With their parent object, 3200 Phaethon, being an asteroid rather than a comet, the particles that produce the Geminid meteors tend to be more robust and thus Geminid meteors, though still brief, tend to last slightly longer than those from other meteor showers ... giving observers a better view. Many observers also note brighter Geminids to be yellow-green in colour.

Remember to wrap up well.

The number of meteors seen is rather sensitive to the darkness of the sky background, so aim to observe from a location that is as dark as possible, has a clear view of the sky and is somewhere where you won't be disturbed and won't disturb others.

Don't look directly at Gemini. Any Geminid meteors that appear there will be approaching you almost head-on and so will have very short paths against the sky background.