The final major meteor shower of every year is always the December Geminid shower, often producing 50 or more meteors per hour.

This year, the Geminids are expected to have one of the most exciting displays of all the meteor showers of 2012.The event takes place Thursday night.The combination of predicted fine weather and a new moon will make the meteors very visible.The main viewing will occur between mid-evening December 13 until dawn December 14.But the nights on either side of the peak date should be good as well.Unlike many meteor showers, you can start watching the Geminids by 9 or 10 p.m. local time. The peak might be around 2 a.m. local time on these nights, 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. Best viewing of the Geminids will probably be from about 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. on December 14.You can comfortably watch meteors from many places, assuming you have a dark sky: your back yard or deck, the hood of your car, the side of a road.