A new meteor shower is only a few hours away to amaze our eyes and souls! The Geminids meteor shower is to take place Thursday night, December 13, when just after dark we should be able to see the so-called shooting stars in the east-northeast horizon.

According to scientists, it seems that the Geminids represent the most active annual meteor shower; their source is related to 3200 Pheathon, an asteroid-like object thought to be an extinct comet.

2007 has not been poor in cosmic events; unfortunately, the two other majors meteor showers of the year (the Perseids and the Leonids) passed and gone, failed to impress sky watchers that much. So, the Geminids are actually our last chance to be wowed.

“This one’s a really stable shower, in that it’s the same year to year,” said Dan Ruby, associate director of the Fleischmann Planetarium, about the Geminids. The scientist also added that this meteor shower is “the one people look forward to each year, people who follow that kind of thing.”

With its peak around 2 a.m. Friday morning, when the Earth will rotate into position with Gemini directly overhead, the Geminids should produce between 60 to 120 meteors per hour.

According to Dan Ruby, the Geminids are likely to offer an amazing sky show, as “pretty multicolor, slower meteors” are expected to hit the sky.

The Geminids meteor shower gets its name from the Gemini constellation, the place from where the meteors radiate.