See stunning pictures of the Geminid meteor shower of 2021

News
By Elizabeth Howell
last updated

The meteor shower was at its peak Monday (Dec. 13), but you can still catch a good sky show for a few days.

A view of the sky over Cape Vyatlina on Russky Island, Russia, during the peak of the 2021 Geminid meteor shower.
A view of the sky over Cape Vyatlina on Russky Island, Russia, during the peak of the 2021 Geminid meteor shower. (Image credit: Yuri Smityuk/TASS via Getty Images)

Social media and photo sites were full of "shooting star" watchers overnight.

The Geminid meteor shower reached its peak Monday (Dec. 13), sparking amateurs and professionals alike to catch a few images of the show. At its peak, there can be as many as 100 to 150 meteors an hour.

This year, skywatchers had a bright waxing moon to contend with, moving to a full phase on Saturday (Dec. 18), but it looks like at least a few bright meteors managed to outshine it. There may still be some bright meteors later in the week, too, so if you were clouded out or busy you may have a chance to see a few Geminids.

Related: How meteor showers work (infographic)

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A meteor streaks across the night sky in Bazhou, Xinjiang Province, China, in the early morning of December 14, 2021.
In this composite image, meteors streak across the night sky in Bazhou, China, on Dec. 14, 2021. (Image credit: Xue Bing/Costfoto/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

On the professional photography side, Xue Bing in China caught a bright meteor streaking towards the horizon in Bazhou, Xinjiang province, while in Russia, Yuri Smityuk spotted a streaker over Vladivostok, near the Sea of Japan.

A meteor streaks across the night sky in Nashville, Tennessee, United States as the Geminid meteor shower reached its maximum in the early morning of December 14, 2021.

A meteor streaks across the night sky in Nashville, Tennessee, as the Geminid meteor shower reached its maximum in the early morning of Dec. 14, 2021.  (Image credit: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A little closer to home, Tayfun Coskun caught a meteor streaking across the sky in Nashville, framed by bare trees on the horizon. And photographers across the world shared their experiences on Twitter, as you can see by a sampling of tweets below.

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One of the more spectacular examples came from Dave DiCello, who caught a meteor appearing to careen towards the city of Pittsburgh (although rest assured, the meteor was too small to make it to the ground, and too high up to pose any threat.) 

And despite the bright conditions, some people reported seeing fireballs, and at least one photographer caught the characteristic green flash of a bright meteor.

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If you're hoping to capture photos of the Geminid meteors, our guide on how to photograph meteor showers can help. You can also use our best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography guides to prepare for the next meteor shower.

Editor's note: If you snap an amazing photo of a Geminid meteor or any other night-sky sight and you'd like to share it with Space.com for a story or image gallery, send images, comments and location information to spacephotos@space.com.

Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or on Facebook. 

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Elizabeth Howell
Elizabeth Howell
Staff Writer, Spaceflight

Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House and Office of the Vice-President of the United States, an exclusive conversation with aspiring space tourist (and NSYNC bassist) Lance Bass, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?", is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University and a Bachelor of History from Canada's Athabasca University. Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and science at several institutions since 2015; her experience includes developing and teaching an astronomy course at Canada's Algonquin College (with Indigenous content as well) to more than 1,000 students since 2020. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday. Mastodon: https://qoto.org/@howellspace