IF YOU'RE looking in the right direction at the right time, you can see a random shooting star once every hour or so on any clear night. But at certain times of the year we can expect to see many more, all coming from the same direction, as Earth ploughs through a stream of space dust. Then we see a meteor shower, and this weekend the annual Geminid meteor shower reaches its peak.
So, after 10pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, find somewhere nice and dark, with a 'big' sky, look to the east, towards the constellation of Orion (with its distinctive belt of three stars) and wait. Eventually you will see a shooting star streak across the sky. The longer you stay out the more you will see, and more will appear after midnight. If you're lucky you might even see a brightly coloured fireball blaze across the sky, leaving a smoky trail behind it. Good luck!
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