Provided there are no clouds, the meteor shower is expected to be particularly bright because the moon is in its cresent stage Danny Lawson/PAStargazers should make sure they go outside tonight to catch a meteor shower set to light up the sky a few hours after midnight. The annual Geminid shower has been getting more intense in recent years and, if the sky is clear between 2am and 3am tonight, up to 160 shooting stars could be seen in the UK. This year’s display will be particularly bright, according to astronomers, as the sky is expected to be particularly dark because the moon is at the thin crescent stage. Commonly known as shooting stars, meteors are small pieces of dust that collide with the planet and burn up in the atmosphere. The annual meteor shower happens when the earth travels through individual streams of cosmic dust.

Source: The Times December 13, 2017 17:09 UTC