GEMINIDS IN PICTURES: Dazzling meteor shower lights up the night sky

The spectacular light show is set to illuminate the sky this year on its annual arrival.

And the Geminids meteor shower has already dazzled stargazers in eastern Europe. 

Stunning images show the meteor shower light up the sky behind an Orthodox church near the village of Zagorie in Belarus.

And in Van, eastern Turkey, stargazers have been spotted watching the meteor shower as it shoots across the sky. 

In Britain the shower will be best seen between midnight and dawn on Thursday when the bright meteors are at their most intense.

But a full moon could outshine the celestial show this time around.

The 10-night event sees at least 100 shooting stars per hour in the night sky. 

NASA says the Geminids are one of the best and most reliable meteor showers. 

At its peak, 120 meteors can be seen per hour under perfect conditions.

However, this year, the peak coincides with a full moon and that could make all but the brightest meteors invisible to the naked eye.

So, for anyone wiling to brave the freezing cold temperatures gripping England, it could be a worth a trip outside.

NASA says sky watchers looking to see the shower should head somewhere away from city lights to a spot with a wide open view of the sky.

In the UK, meteors can be seen starting on December 13 and 14 from around 9 or 10 pm local time and are viewable until the early morning hours.

The meteor shower can be seen from the Northern Hemisphere, and in the Southern Hemisphere.

In the UK, the lightshow will be more visible the further north you can get.

The boffins at NASA say the Geminid meteor shower is the result of cosmic debris from asteroid 3200 Phaethon smashing into Earth every December.

Bits of the debris from the asteroid come crashing down through the earth’s atmosphere turning into a beautiful light show.

And for anyone unwilling to wrap up warm to see the show live, stargazers can watch it on web cams.

In the US, will get to watch the shower thanks to NASA’s online coverage. 

You can also follow the Geminid meteors on NASA’s All Sky Fireball network page right here.

The astronomers at robotic telescope service Slooh have you covered tonight from at 9pm EST in the US and 2am GMT on Thursday in the UK.