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Geminids meteor shower 2025: When and how you can watch it
The annual Geminids meteor shower reaches its peak in December. From timings to online feeds, here’s how viewers in India can follow the event.
The Geminids are back this week, slipping into the December sky with the kind of steady activity that makes the shower a winter fixture. The peak is expected over the night of December 13-14, a stretch that usually brings some of the strongest meteor counts of the year. Most estimates point to rates that can climb past 120 meteors per hour under clean, dark skies. The event will not be possible to witness in real-time for everyone, which is why the online feeds matter this time.
The Geminids meteor shower 2025 peak time in India
The Geminids meteor shower begins as early as late evening, but the prime hours fall between 2 am and 4 am IST on December 14, according to The Free Press Journal. That is when the debris path aligns with Earth’s motion, and the radiant in Gemini climbs high enough to sharpen the view. Even with city lights, brighter streaks remain visible. The darker the sky, the more consistent the shower looks.
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How to watch the Geminids online from India
For those unable to step outdoors or leave urban areas, livestreams are becoming the easier route. The Virtual Telescope Project will run a real-time broadcast from its observatory in Italy, capturing the shower through wide-field instruments designed for faint meteor tracking. NASA and the International Meteor Organization sometimes stream parallel feeds on YouTube, though these appear closer to the event.
Tips for viewing the Geminids meteor shower at home
Not much setup is needed for online viewing. Turn off room lighting and increase screen brightness slightly. The livestream will track the meteor shower for you. The goal is to reduce glare and let the camera’s sensor do the work. It is a quieter way to follow the event, especially for viewers in high-pollution zones.
Why the Geminids are significant this year
The shower comes from the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, not a comet, which gives the debris stream a dense, rocky character. That is why the Geminids often deliver steadier counts than many other annual showers. In 2025, the Moon remains only a 25 per cent waning crescent, rising after 3 am, which keeps most of the peak largely unaffected, as per the American Meteor Society.
With a strong ZHR forecast and minimal moonlight, this year’s Geminids remain one of December’s most reliable sky shows, indoors or outdoors, depending on where you choose to watch.
