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Annual Geminid meteor shower to light-up Vancouver skies this week

The Geminid meteor shower is about to reach its peak over the skies of Vancouver. Image/Pixabay The annual 'rock comet' shower takes places from December 4 - 23, but peaks around December 13 - 14.

The Geminid meteor shower is about to reach its peak over the skies of Vancouver.

 Image/PixabayImage/Pixabay

The annual 'rock comet' shower takes places from December 4 - 23, but peaks around December 13 - 14. It's estimated that eager sky-watchers will be able to spot between 60 - 100 meteors per hour.

Viewing tips

To spot the meteors, it's best that you find a clear view of the sky as far form city lights and general light pollution as possible. You'll likely have the best chance of spotting meteors from 10:00pm on December 13, until 2:00am on December 14, however, they should be visible throughout the month. The meteors often appear yellowish in colour and travel at a speed of 35 km/s.

For optimal viewing, you may want to head to a local mountain or use this light pollution map to find the best viewing areas around Vancouver.

The meteors appear to come from a radiant in the constellation Gemini. As a general rule, the higher the constellation Gemini climbs into your sky, the more meteors you'll be able to see.

The Geminids are a meteor shower caused by the object 3200 Phaethon, an Apollo asteroid with an orbit that brings it closer to the Sun than any other named asteroid.