Geminid meteor shower 2022 live: Shooting stars to light up sky over UK and US tonight

Most of the UK and Ireland currently has remarkably good weather for viewing the Geminid Meteor Shower tonight, according to the latest forecasts from the Met Office.

Here’s how the weather map currently looks:

For anyone on the south coast or in East Anglia, don’t lose heart. The skies will clear as the night goes on, with the best views on offer in the early hours. Equally, anyone in Ireland are better off going outside now to check out the shower, as they might not have much longer to do so,

This is the current forecast from the Met Office for 5am:

Professional photographers have given their tips for capturing the Geminid meteor shower, with all saying that some kind of tripod to steady the camera is essential.

It’s worth using a tripod for taking pictures with a smartphone too, as any camera shake can compromise the quality of the pictures – but if you don’t have one to hand you can simply rest your phone on a window ledge

Arguably the best technique is to use a timelapse feature on your camera or smartphone, though for anyone without those capabilities then there are some other methods that can help capture shooting stars.

David Reneke, an astronomer and writer for Australian science magazine advises anyone using an SLR or DSLR camera to play with aperture settings on your camera to photograph the night sky.

Burst settings can also capture multiple photos at once.

For older smartphones that use a digital zoom rather than an optical zoom, it’s generally best not to use the zoom as it could compromise the quality of the image. Instead, take the picture and then crop it.

Newer phones feature incredible zoom capabilities that can take detailed pictures of far away objects. Other cameras come with special features to improve pictures of the night sky, such as the Google Pixel’s Astro mode.

Here’s how the Geminid Meteor Shower appeared in Big Meadows in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, last night – courtesy of nature photographer Peter Forister.

The US still has a few hours to wait until the Sun falls and the shooting stars appear, but hopefully we’ll be getting some images of tonight’s shower in the UK.

According to Anna Gammon-Ross, an astronomer at Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Geminid meteor shower will begin to be visible in the UK tonight from 6pm GMT. That’s right now, so if the skies are clear in your area, take a look outside.

“For the best chances to spot the Geminids, find a dark area of clear sky and allow around 20 minutes to let your eyes adapt to the dark,” she says. “It may also be advisable to lie down as you may be looking up for a long time.”

If you miss them tonight, don’t fret. Anna says they’ll still be visible up until 20 December.

Weather may be great (at least in the UK) for viewing the Geminids meteor shower tonight, but a recent full moon means it will be slightly harder than if the Moon was closer to a new moon.

Nasa predicts between 30-40 ‘shooting stars’ per hour at its peak.

“Don’t miss the annual Geminids meteor shower,” Nasa tweeted.

“A waning gibbous moon will make it harder to view most of the shower, but the Geminids burn so bright, up to 30-40 should be visible per hour!”

The weather could almost not be better for a December evening, with the UK Met Office forecasting clear skies across most parts of the country this evening.

Other than parts of Cornwall and Devon, people in England and Wales should be able to expect a good showing once the Sun goes down. Unfortunately, conditions in north-easterly Scotland and Northern Ireland don’t look ideal.

Here’s how the weather will look at 10pm GMT tonight, according to the Met Office’s latest forecast:

To give yourself the best chance of seeing the meteors, you’re going to want to be in the best place. There are plenty of things to do to make sure you’re watching in the best way.

The usual advice is that it’s best to get away from buildings and other sources of light to watch the meteor shower. In many places, at this kind of year, that’s going to be very difficult, given the weather.

Because of the intensity of the moonlight this year, however, you might actually do well to sit in the shade of a house or a tree. That will help keep your view from being blocked by the bright Moon.

Otherwise, get into as wide open and dark space as you can, given the conditions. Light pollution like street lights will still make it harder to see the sky, so even a slight reduction in the amount of interference will help.

Once that’s done, look up. The meteors will appear to come from anywhere in the sky, so as long as you’re looking towards the stars you’re in with a chance of seeing one.

(They’ll appear to come from the Gemini constellation – hence their name – but looking just at that can actually limit the number you’ll see. Instead, pick a dark patch of the sky and stay alert.)

The true peak of the meteor shower is early on 14 December. There’s still some time to see it, though – but not much time. The last opportunity is 17 December, though there won’t be many to see then.

This image, taken in 2014, shows what a good night of Geminids looks like. More than 100 meteors can be seen in the composite image.