Geminid meteor shower 2021: How to see it in Newport this week

The display returns every December, and this year is set to take place in the coming days.

It will peak overnight on Monday, December 13, and be visible in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

How to see the Geminid meteor shower

The meteor shower can be seen with the naked eye, but it is best not to look directly at the radiant as this can limit the number of meteors you can see.

Instead, people should look just to the side in a dark area of the sky for a better chance of seeing the display.

Met Office Newport weather forecast for Geminid shower

The Met Office forecast for Newport skygazers hoping to catch a glimpse of the phenomenon is not too optimistic.

Partly cloudy conditions are expected throughout Monday night and into Tuesday morning which could block the view of the meteor shower.

However, stargazers may be able to catch the odd glimpse through the cloud.

Keep up to date with the weather forecast and the chance to view the Geminid meteor shower on the Met Office Website.

What is the Geminid meteor shower?

Meteors are pieces of debris that enter Earth’s atmosphere at speeds of up to 70km per second, vaporising and causing the streaks of light we call meteors.

Geminids are very bright, moderately fast, and are unusual in being multi-coloured.

They are mainly white; however some are yellow and a few are green, red and blue. This is partly caused by the presence of metals like sodium and calcium. These are the same elements used to make fireworks colourful.

The shower is known to produce more than 100 meteors an hour at its peak, although light pollution and other factors mean that in reality the actual number visible is far fewer.

The source of the shooting stars is a stream of debris left behind by the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, making this one of the only major showers not to originate from a comet.