The Biggest Meteor Shower Of The Year Will Be Visible Over Ireland Tonight

The Geminids meteor shower will be making an appearance over Irish skies from tonight and it’s set to be the biggest one of 2018.

The best times to see it will be during its peak tonight and tomorrow night, though you might be able to spot the shower any time up until December 17 if the skies are clear.

The shower happens around December 13 every year when the Earth’s orbit comes into contact with the debris of an asteroid called 3200 Phaethon.

We have two events coming up in the next week that you do not want to miss.
1. This Fri evening, 14th Dec. see the Christmas comet at a “Comet Watch” at @AstronomyIRL HQ.
2. Next Mon evening, 17th Dec, hear Kevin Nolan of @TPSIreland talk about the @NASAInSight mission.

— Astronomy Ireland (@AstronomyIRL) December 10, 2018

But that’s not the only bright presence we’ll be seeing in the skies over the next few days.

Astronomy Ireland has confirmed that a ‘Christmas Comet’ called Comet Wirtanen will pass overhead and fly closer to Earth than it ever will in our lifetime.

To mark the occasion, Astronomy Ireland is inviting the public to join them at its HQ in Blanchardstown for ‘Comet Watch’, taking place tomorrow night. You can find more details about the event here.

Sadly, we’re in for some rainy and cloudy weather over the next few days with Met Éireann issuing a status yellow weather advisory.

Forecaster Liz Gavin said, “Unfortunately, tomorrow will be a rather cloudy day… The frontal system will hang around overnight but there might be some clear breaks. The best of the breaks may be in the northeast of the country.”

We can still hold out hope that we’ll spot something in the sky though – Astronomy Ireland has said we can expect to see “up to 50 times more shooting stars than normal” in the coming days.

READ MORE: Met Éireann Issues ‘Severe Weather’ Advisory With Storm Force Winds Expected This Weekend