The Geminids meteor shower will peak this week. Here's what causes it and how to see it

On Wednesday night, the Geminids meteor shower, one of the biggest meteor showers of the year, will begin to light up the night sky. To see it, all you need is a good view and a deck chair.

When it comes to space, Ben Dorman knows his stuff. He is he chair of the Friends of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory and has NASA on his resume. He knows what is about to unfold above our heads.

“The meteors are actually tiny grains of dust that the earth encounters in its orbit,” said Dorman.

Earth will be passing through that cosmic dust field, solar dirt left behind by an asteroid called Phaethon. It spans about five kilometres across, orbiting the sun.

As the earth passes through Phaethon’s dust field, those particles enter earth’s atmosphere and burn up. That gives us a spectacular meteor shower at no risk to the planet.

“Those are called meteors,” said Dorman. “We call meteorites objects that do actually reach the earth’s surface, and they can do incredible amounts of damage.” Like the one that is thought to be responsible for wiping out the dinosaurs.

As for that asteroid that left all its dust in its wake as it passed through earth’s orbit, “We call asteroids that might hit the earth PHAs, potentially hazardous asteroids,” said Dorman.

Phaethon will not hit earth on its current trajectory, but is being monitored by astronomers around the world.

“We have to watch it in case it’s pushed by something and that changes,” said Dorman.

The chances are slim, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

At the peak of the two-day event, 120 meteors per hour are expected to be seen in the night sky.

Dorman says to find a dark location with a good vantage of the entire sky, because the moon is expected to co-operate.

“The moon is new so it is only up during the day at the moment, so there’s no moonlight,” said Dorman.

He recommends getting to that dark place half an hour before the meteor shower begins to allow your eyes to adjust to the dark conditions.