Tonight, shooting stars will be blazing through the sky with the annual Geminid showers!
Considered to be the last meteor showers of the year, they are also the brightest and can be seen with the naked eye. While meteor showers are usually the result of debris flying off from comets, the Geminid showers are actually debris from an asteroid called 3200 Phaethon!
In a rare occurrence, the comet called Wirtanen may also have debris flying off it on the same night. That’s double the shooting stars! Wirtanen has been floating around near Earth for many years, but this will be the first time its debris will come in contact with Earth’s atmosphere.
The showers are expected to be at their brightest tonight, but not everyone will be lucky enough to catch this wonderful sight. The following map of North America illustrates which locations have the best chance of viewing the showers: