Look up: Geminid meteor shower peaks Thursday night

TAMPA, Fla. (FOX 13) - One of the most eye-catching meteor showers will peak Thursday night.  

The annual Geminid meteor shower has arrived, with the potential of one or two visual meteors per minute.

According to NASA, the Geminids are active in the second week of December, when Earth passes through a massive trail of debris shed by the asteroid 3200 Phaethon. The debris burns up when it enters the Earth’s atmosphere, creating “shooting stars.”

NASA says the best time to watch is after 10:30 p.m. overnight Dec. 13 and Dec. 14. 

Find the darkest place you can outside, away from lights, and lie flat on your back and look straight up. It takes about 20 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the darkness.

The Geminids will increase to a maximum of 100 per hour around 2 a.m., according to NASA. 

"The Geminids are often bright and intensely colored," the American Meteor Society states on its website. 

The space rocks will zoom by, hitting Earth at around 22 miles per second, according to the AMS.