Meteor showers to light up Australian skies tonight

Three out-of-this-world events will happen between the 13th and 21st, visible from all across Australia.

The space party starts with the Geminid meteor shower tonight and early into Monday morning.

The Geminids is an annual meteor shower, when Earth passes through bits of rock from the asteroid 3200 Phaethon.

Small rocks fall off as it goes around the Sun, like a boat leaves a wake behind it.

The Earth passes through this debris and as they hit the Earth, they burn up in our Earth's atmosphere, putting on a light show. The name Geminid comes from the Gemini constellation where the meteor shower appears to originate in the sky.

Visible from about 1-2am local time, the meteor shower will last for a few hours before sunrise, peaking around 3am on Monday.

In the southern parts of Australia, you can expect 20 to 50 meteors or shooting stars per hour. In the northern parts of Australia, it will be closer to nearly one per minute.

To maximise your chance at seeing the meteors, you want as clear of a view to the north as possible, and in the darkest spot possible away from any lights. Head to a nearby oval, park, or somewhere even darker.

The great thing about a meteor shower is that you do not need any special equipment, just your eyes.

When you go outside, let your eyes adjust to the darkness for 10 to 20 minutes, before really trying to spot them.

Then on Thursday, December 17, it is the Moon, Jupiter, and Saturn's time to shine. These three objects will appear right together, which will form an awesome grouping in the sky!

A little bit after sunset, from about 8.30 to 9pm, look towards the west. You'll see a thin crescent Moon and two bright objects, right next to it. Those two bright objects will be Jupiter and Saturn.

The final event happens on the evening of December 21. Not only is this the summer solstice in the southern hemisphere or the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere, it is also the "great conjunction" of Jupiter and Saturn.

You may have noticed these two bright objects have been getting closer and closer over the past few months. On the 21st, they culminate in their close approach.

Jupiter and Saturn will be so close they will appear as a double star or planet! You will have to act quick as it will be only be visible for a little bit after sunset.

If you have a pair of binoculars, you can see them together.

While they do this about every 20 years, some conjunctions are closer than others. They will appear closer than they have since 1226, almost 800 years. It is a special event for the end of the year.