Geminid Meteor Shower 2012: Weather Forecast Looking Up

If you're hoping to see what could be the year's most spectacular show in the sky, the Geminid meteor shower 2012, things are looking up.

The Geminids peaks overnight Dec. 13 and Dec. 14, and the weather forecast for Iowa City is for clear skies to begin the overnight, with only partly cloudy skies as morning approaches.

You can get an idea of just how great the show could be from this beautiful time-lapse video of the Geminid meteor shower. You can also look at some spectacular photos of the Geminids.

If you liked the Perseids meteor shower 2012 in August, you should love this show. Why? Because the Geminids is relatively young, NASA reports, and over the decades the rates have increased, regularly spawning between 80 and 120 per hour at its peak on a clear evening.

How spectacular is it? Just take a look at this video of the Geminid meteor shower. You can also look at some spectacular photos of the Geminids.

Tips for best viewing

Earthsky.org reports the Geminids peak might be around 2 a.m. on Dec. 13 and 14, because that’s when the shower’s radiant point is highest in the sky as seen around the world.

"With no moon to ruin the show, 2012 presents a most favorable year for watching the grand finale of the meteor showers," Earthsky reports. "Best viewing of the Geminids will probably be from about 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. on December 14."

Here are some viewing tips:

To watch meteors, you need a dark sky. So, if you care to join thousands across the nation in viewing the shower, park yourself at a good viewing spot and enjoy the show.

A good viewing spot should be Sokum Ridge Park, located about five miles south of Washington, Iowa. This is a county park with no lights around, and it gets really dark at night.

What are the Geminids?

The Geminid meteor shower is named after the constellation Gemini, which is located in roughly the same point of the night sky where the Geminid meteor shower appears to originate.

Geminids are pieces of debris from 3200 Phaethon, basically a rocky skeleton of a comet that lost most of its meat and skin—its outer covering of ice—after too many close encounters with the sun.

Most meteors meet the Earth's atmosphere, burning up in a brilliant light show, when the planet passes through the tail of a comet as the comet's orbit nears the Earth.

Strangely, the Geminids appear not when a comet's tail swings by, but when the Earth comes in contact with the particles associated with an indistinct, rocky object that doesn't have a tail, detected by NASA in 1983 and named 3200 Phaethon. Scientists speculate that 3200 Phaethon may be a chip from a nearby asteroid.

Are the predictions for the 2012 showers reliable? Although astronomers have tried to publish exact predictions in recent years, meteor showers remain notoriously unpredictable.

Your best bet is to go outside at the suggested time—and hope.