Here’s the best time to start stargazing
20:02, 12 Dec 2025Updated 20:07, 12 Dec 2025
A time-lapse capturing the Geminids Meteor Shower in Thailand (stock)(Image: WC.GI / Getty Images)
A “spectacular” meteor shower will be visible over Ireland this weekend – and if you want to see it, this Cork expert has a few tips to help.
The Geminid meteor shower hits its peak between Saturday December 13 and Sunday December 14, during which rural stargazers in Ireland could see up to 120 shooting stars per hour. This dazzling display happens once a year and comes from the tail end of asteroid 3200 Phaethon, which flies very close to the sun during its 524-day orbit.
Blackrock Castle Observatory centre manager Alan Giltinan said that while the event can cause some “lovely” displays, most Irish stargazers are only likely to catch 10-15 shooting stars per hour tonight. He still encourages everyone to head outside and take a look however – as it could be your only chance to see them for at least a year.
Speaking to RTÉ’s News at One, he said the best time to catch the Geminids is from 10pm onwards, from which time they should be visible to the East.
He said: “The geminids are a meteor shower that occurs annually; they’re basically the tail end of an asteroid that passes once per annum. When we get the tail end of it, we get this lovely display of shooting stars, which happens in the direction of the constellation Gemini, which gives it its name.
“The forecast itself isn’t particularly good over the weekend. Tonight might indeed be your best option. To get a look at these, I would look east, relatively late in the evening, from 10pm onwards, look to the east and hopefully you’ll see a few. You should see 10/15 per hour, in that kind of range, on a night like tonight.
“With the geminids, you can get up to a 100/120 per hour which is a particularly spectacular show. And because we’re in winter, they go for a fair bit of time either side, because you do have that long, darker period leading into the peak and out from the peak, so you do get a longer stretch of getting to see these shooting stars. So it is quite an impressive show if the weather does play ball.”
Even for those in cloudy areas, however, Alan encourages stargazers not to give up too early, as even a short break in the clouds could be all you need to see these meteors flying overhead. For the best bet to catch them, head to somewhere far away from light pollution.
The Geminids will also be very visible over the weekend – however with the oncoming Status Yellow alerts for Saturday and Sunday evenings, your best bet is to see them tonight. This shower will also be present, though less active, for the next few weeks, during which it will be a good bit harder to see.