How to catch the Geminids, the strongest meteor shower of the year

We're in the midst of the "best and most reliable" meteor shower of the year. Here's where and when to look for the Geminids, and why the event still puzzles astronomers.

The Geminids, which happen every December, are "one of the best and most reliable annual meteor showers," according to NASA.

Peter Brown, an astronomy professor at Western University in London, Ont., who studies meteor showers goes further, calling it the "strongest meteor shower of the year."

Meteors, also known as shooting stars, appear as points of light that streak across the sky. They're caused by dust and small rocks passing into the atmosphere and burning up.

While you might see a meteor any night of the year, you can expect a lot more during a meteor shower, which occurs several times a year.

One of the best known showers is the Perseids, which happen in August and which many people see while out camping or at cottages.

But the Geminids produce meteors at about double the rate of the Perseids, said Brown. You can see more than two per minute when the December meteor shower is peaking.

"They last for several days. They're quite rich and bright meteors. They're slower than the Perseids," Brown said. "So as a visual display … the Geminids are quite, quite spectacular."

And in fact, the Geminid meteor shower has improved in recent decades, producing more meteors now than in the past, although researchers aren't really sure why.

The Geminids are generally active from Dec. 4 to 17, and this year's meteor shower is already underway. It also tends to be more active before its peak — overnight on Dec. 13-14 this year — than after.

"If people can get outside any time in the next four or five days, right up to next Wednesday, it's definitely worth trying," Brown said.

This year, the meteor shower will "definitely be strongest Monday night, Dec. 13, into Tuesday morning," he said.

It's official peak will be around 3 a.m. ET Tuesday.

Brown recommends people try to view the shower between 2 a.m. and dawn local time where they are, as the moon sets around then and skies will be darker, making the meteors easier to spot.