The annual Geminid meteor shower, an oddball among such events, peaks Wednesday December 13. Though a bright Moon will outshine many of the shooting stars, scientists say the Geminids are still worth a look.

But you'll want to get up early.

This shower, typically one of the best of the year, runs from December 7-17. The hourly rate at the peak can be as high as 120 meteors per hour.

Unfortunately, the full Moon on December 11 will drown out many of the Geminids. Still, the peak nights of activity on December 12-13 and 13-14 could yield as many as 20 to 30 meteors per hour in rural areas away from bright lights.

The best time to watch, according to NASA, is before dawn Wednesday. Face south to watch the show. Meteors can be anywhere in the sky, but will streak away from a point in the constellation Gemini, well above the southern horizon. This point in the sky is called the radiant. While the shooting stars can appear anywhere, their trails will point back toward the radiant.

But early morning hours aren't the only time you can see meteors.

"The Geminid meteor shower is often the most spectacular meteor display of the year," says Robert Lunsford of the American Meteor Society. "It is also one of the few major annual displays that can be seen during the evening hours."

Lunsford recommends watching for Geminids before moonrise on the evening of the 13th or watching early in the morning on the 13th and 14th.

Most meteor showers are caused when Earth passes through a stream of dust and debris left behind by a comet. But the Geminids are enigmatic.

"The Geminids are a mystery," says Brian Marsden of the Minor Planet Center at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. "Most meteoroids that we know of come from comets. They are set free by solar vaporization of [cometary] ice. Geminid meteoroids, on the other hand, appear to come from 3200 Phaethon, an asteroid. We're not sure why an asteroid should have a debris trail, but this one does."

The Quadrantid meteor shower runs from January 1-5 and peaks on Wednesday, January 3. The Moon will cooperate with this shower, and it is expected to be worth braving the cold for. More in our daily Space Weather Forecast.

• More on the Geminids: Weekly Meteor Forecast
• All About Meteor showers
• Explore Comets
• Explore Meteors
• Does Anyone Ever Get Hit By a Meteor?