All you need to know about one of the most spectacular meteor showers in 2024

The Geminid meteor shower is named after the constellation Gemini.

It will be on display from December 13 to December 15 across Australia.

Normally, a meteor shower passes through the tail end of a comet. But this one is unusual.

It passes through the debris left behind by an asteroid named 3200 Phaethon.

Mid-North Coast astronomer and space historian Dave Reneke described it as a "great little show".

"And it is free," he said.

Mr Reneke said the meteor shower derived its name from a description for water "shooting out in streams" such as from a shower head.

He said that while it would coincide with an almost full moon, "making it a little hard to see," it was still expected to be dazzling.

He said meteor showers could be "notoriously difficult to predict" but said up to 120 "shooting stars" per hour could be visible, although the presence of an almost full moon might obscure them.

He advised people to get up around 3am on December 13 or 14 and "be patient".

"If you just wait for five minutes you might not see anything," he said. "You've got to sit in a chair and look to the northeast and just wait for it to happen."

"That's the rule of meteor showers," he said. "You have to be patient."

As for other tips, avoid artificial light, particularly torches, headlights and the light from your phone.