DENVER (KDVR) — The Geminid meteor shower will peak Monday night into the morning hours of Tuesday.
The Geminid meteors are pieces of an asteroid that burn up once they enter Earth’s atmosphere. When they are burning, they become bright enough to see from Earth’s surface.
People can see up to 50 meteors per hour during this shower and if viewing conditions are perfect, it is possible to see up to 150 meteors per hour.
There is no one direction you have to look to see these meteors because they will be visible in all parts of the sky.
The moon will be about 77% lit in its waxing gibbous phase during the shower. Because of this, meteor viewing will be best after moonset and before dawn so that the sky is dark. On Tuesday morning this will be from about 3 a.m. to 6:30 a.m.
If you don’t get the chance to see it Monday night or Tuesday morning there is still a chance to see some of them before dawn on Wednesday.
Unfortunately, many parts of the Front Range and lower elevations of eastern Colorado will have mostly cloudy skies during peak viewing time. Colorado’s mountains are expected to see fewer clouds and will therefore have better visibility of the event.