VICTORIA -- A cosmic display of lights is expected to fill the night sky above British Columbia Sunday evening.

According to NASA, the Geminids are widely recognized as the best meteor shower of the year.

The Geminids shower is unique, as scientists say that its meteors are not derived from a comet, which is common, but come from a what appears to be a massive asteroid.

NASA believes 3200 Phaethon, which is the parent body of the meteor shower, is 5.10 kilometres in diameter.

This Sunday evening and Monday morning, Earth will pass through trails of dust, or meteoroids, left behind by 3200 Phaethon.

When those smaller items burn up in Earth’s atmosphere, they create a meteor shower.

This year’s shower is expected to be better than normal as it overlaps with a nearly new moon. That should make for a darker sky and no moonlight, according to NASA experts.

Peak viewing should fall on Sunday evening from roughly 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday morning.

It’s expected that this year’s meteor shower could produce 60 visible meteors per hour.

NASA will livestream the shower from its meteor camera at the Marshall Space Flight Centre.