This year's Geminid meteor shower looks set to be a good 'un for European stargazers, with hopefully clear skies coupled with a slim waxing crescent Moon offering ideal conditions for the lightshow.

According to New Scientist, the Geminids should peak at around 1745 GMT tomorrow. Observers in Asia are advised to look skywards during the night of 14-15 December, while those in North and South America, although the peak occurs during daylight, should get "a few dozen meteors per hour" just before dawn tomorrow.

While other meteor showers are fuelled by debris expelled from comets during their closest encounters with the sun, 3200 Phaethon lacks a tail. Accordingly, scientists speculate its debris trail may have been caused by a collision with another body.

On the other hand, it's possible 3200 Phaethon is a spent comet which has lost all of its ice, in which case the Geminids represent the ghostly remains of its former tail. ®

Related stories

• Perseid meteor shower set to dazzle disappoint (11 August 2009)
• Comet Holmes and the case of the Disappearing Tail (18 November 2007)
• Deadly planet-smash asteroid was actually Euro probe (13 November 2007)
• Bubbly meteor hints at seeds of life (4 December 2006)