The famous Geminid meteor shower will sling bright shooting stars this winter, though a just-past-full moon will make all but the brightest hard to see. The shower will peak on Dec. 13-14, according to NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke. Even after the peak, bright meteors may be visible for the next few days.

The Geminids are considered one of the best meteor showers every year because the individual meteors are bright, and they come fast and furious. This year, because of the moonlight, around 20-30 may be visible per hour.

"It won't be a total washout, because the Geminids have a lot of fireballs in them," Cooke said, which may be visible despite the moon. The best time to watch for the Geminids is about 2 a.m. in your local time zone. [The Geminid Meteor Shower: 6 Surprising Facts You Should Know]

The Geminid meteor shower is nearly 200 years old, according to known records — the first recorded observation was in 1833 from a riverboat on the Mississippi River — and is still going strong. In fact, it's growing stronger. That's because Jupiter's gravity has tugged the stream of particles from the shower's source, the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, closer to Earth over the centuries.

When to see them

Geminid meteors appear to diverge from a single spot in the sky, called the radiant, located in the constellation Gemini. But you'll see as many as possible if you lean back and take in the whole sky — they can appear anywhere across the sky, traveling away from that point. (Image credit: Sky & Telescope /Gregg Dinderman)

The meteors tend to peak about 2 a.m. your local time wherever you're observing from, but can be seen as early as 9-10 p.m.

The Geminids, as their name implies, appear to emanate from the bright constellation Gemini (the twins). To find Gemini in the Northern Hemisphere, look in the southwestern sky for the constellation Orion, which is easy to spot by the three stars in the hunter's "belt." Then look just up and to the left of Orion to see Gemini, high in the southwestern sky. In the Southern Hemisphere, Gemini appears to the lower right of Orion and both will hang in the northwestern sky.

Although the meteors will appear to stream away from Gemini, they can appear all across the sky. For best results, you should look slightly away from Gemini so that you can see meteors with longer "tails" as they streak by; staring directly at Gemini will just show you meteors that don't travel very far.

In fact, NASA's all-sky camera has captured some amazing Geminid views for 2018.

Where do they come from?

The Geminids are associated with the near-Earth object 3200 Phaethon, an asteroid that may have undergone a collision with another object in the distant past to produce the stream of particles that Earth runs into — creating the meteor shower.

The asteroid orbits the sun every 1.4 years. It occasionally comes close to Earth (at a safe distance) and also passes very close to the sun, inside of Mercury's orbit and only 0.15 astronomical units from the sun. (An astronomical unit is the distance between the sun and the Earth: about 93 million miles or 150 million kilometers.)

Rocks in space that are about to collide with Earth's atmosphere are called meteoroids. Those that streak through the atmosphere are called meteors, and if they reach the ground (which won't happen with the Geminids, as the particles are too small to survive the trip) the rocks are called meteorites.

The orbit of the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, which passes around the sun once every 1.4 years. Though it is an asteroid, its elongated path is reminiscent of comets. The Geminid meteor shower comes every year when Earth passes through the debris left along the asteroid's path. (Image credit: Sky & Telescope diagram)

How to get the best view

Meteor showers don't require binoculars or telescopes to view — just your bare eyes. Find a comfortable spot to lie on the ground, far away from lights and ideally in a dark-sky area. Bring a blanket and dress warmly if you're in cold weather. Give your eyes about 20-30 minutes to adjust to the dark, then sit back and enjoy the show.

Editor's note: If you capture an amazing view of the Geminid meteor shower or any other night sky view that you would like to share with Space.com for a possible story or gallery, send images and comments in to: spacephotos@space.com.