Geminid meteor shower to be visible in Boston over the next few nights. Here’s how to see it.

BOSTON – The Geminid meteor shower will be peaking Friday and Saturday night and you’ll have a chance to see it in the skies above Boston.

When to view the meteor shower

The Geminids are typically one of the best meteor shows of the entire year, many times producing dozens of shooting stars each hour!

This year, we have one major hurdle, the moon. Unfortunately, the moon will be nearing its full phase, rising in the late afternoon in the next couple of days. Therefore, it will be shining brightly during the peak viewing hours for the Geminids. This will wash out or obscure about 75% of the typical meteors meaning you will likely only be able to spot between 5-15 per hour.

Your best chance will actually be in the predawn hours when the moon is setting.

There will be very little cloud cover over the next few nights so no worries in that department. You will need to bundle up though as temperatures will be dropping into the teens and 20s each night.

Full cold moon

Speaking of the Moon, it will officially be full on 4:02 a.m. on Sunday. In December, it is known as the full “cold” Moon, for obvious reasons. It will rise in the east at 3:14 p.m. on Saturday and 4:12 p.m. on Sunday.

Lastly, check out the moon and Jupiter about an hour after sunset over the next couple of days. They will be close together in the east-northeast. Friday night, the moon will be just above Jupiter and Saturday evening they will be side by side.