Geminids 2025: Shooting stars on the third weekend of Advent

The Geminid meteor shower will once again grace us with its presence this year – under near-perfect conditions. Most shooting stars will be visible during the night from 13 to 14 December (Saturday to Sunday). Away from city lights, you can expect to see more than one meteor per minute. The waning Moon will not appear until early in the morning and will hardly cause any inconvenience. 

Next to the Perseids in August, the Geminids in mid-December are one of the few major meteor showers that offer shooting star enthusiasts a spectacular display each year. They are named after the constellation Gemini, because they seem to originate from a point near Castor, its second brightest star. This year, the remarkably bright planet Jupiter,  located in the center of Gemini, just below Castor and the brightest star Pollux, shows the way to the radiant point.

We see shooting stars whenever dust-sized particles enter Earth's atmosphere at high speeds. In doing so, they cause the molecules in the air to glow for a fraction of a second to a maximum of a few seconds. In the case of the Geminids, the dust particles originate from asteroid (3200) Phaethon, whose orbit around the Sun is crossed by the Earth in mid-December each year.

In 2025, the peak of the Geminids is expected for the late morning hours of 14 December (probably around 9 CET), when the Sun is already above the horizon in German-speaking countries. The best night for viewing the Geminids is therefore the night of 13 to 14 December. Since this is the night from Saturday to Sunday, you can enjoy the shooting stars at a later hour, regardless of school or work. The waning Moon will only be visible as a crescent and will not rise until around 2:30 CET on this night. It will therefore hardly interfere.

The evening hours of the night from Sunday to Monday (i.e.14 to 15 December) could also be interesting, as the most striking Geminid meteors are often observed towards the end of the peak. Geminids are on average comparably bright and can have intensely colors.

For observing shooting stars, the general rule is: the further away from city lights, the better. It is best to find a vantage point outside of towns where no buildings, trees, or mountains block the view, as shooting stars cross the entire sky. No special equipment is needed; on the contrary, binoculars or telescopes are an obstacle. A deck chair, a warm blanket, and a thermos flask with a hot drink, on the other hand, make waiting for the shooting stars more convenient.