Here Are 14 Photos Of This Week's Rare Meteor Shower, And You Might Be Able To Still See It

    Visibility of the Geminids meteor shower hasn't ended just yet.

    Joseph Longo
    by Joseph Longo

    BuzzFeed Staff

    1. On Wednesday night, the Geminids meteor shower was positively visible in the sky.

    View of the starry night sky above a desolate building surrounded by patches of snowy grass and a fence
    Fatih Aktas / Anadolu via Getty Images

    The Geminids meteor show as seen in Lanoka Harbor, New Jersey

    2. This specific meteor shower is an annual celestial event that occurs in late November and mid-December.

    View of the starry night sky above a desolate building
    Fatih Aktas / Anadolu via Getty Images

    3. The meteor shower's name is a reference to its radiant point, aka where in the sky the meteors can be found.

    View of the starry night sky above trees
    Thilina Kaluthotage/NurPhoto via Getty Images

    The Geminids meteor showers as seen in Ratnapura, Sri Lanka

    4. So for the Geminids meteor show, the meteors appear to be coming from the Gemini constellation.

    View of the starry night sky above trees showing the constellation
    Thilina Kaluthotage / NurPhoto via Getty Images

    5. But don't mistake the constellation as the meteors' source. It just serves the purpose of identifying which meteor shower you're viewing.

    View of the starry night sky above trees showing the constellation
    Thilina Kaluthotage / NurPhoto via Getty Images

    6. What makes the Geminids stand out among other meteor showers is that Geminids don't seem to be the debris of comets, as most other meteors are.

    View of the starry night sky showing the constellation
    Thilina Kaluthotage / NurPhoto via Getty Images

    7. This matters because comets consist of dust and ice.

    View of the starry night sky above trees showing the constellation
    Thilina Kaluthotage / NurPhoto via Getty Images

    8. According to NASA, scientists believe that the Geminids originated from an asteroid, meaning that they're likely primarily made of rock and not ice and dust.

    View of the starry night sky above trees showing the constellation
    Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images

    The Geminids meteor shower as seen from the Tunnel View of Yosemite National Park in California

    9. The specific asteroid the Geminids may have come from is named 3200 Phaethon.

    View of the starry night sky above trees showing the constellation
    Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images

    10. All this matters, in part, because it may affect what you see in the sky. Specifically, most meteors appear as white streaks in the sky. However, as space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock told the BBC this week about the Geminids, "Quite a few of these shooting stars will be colored because of the difference in elements within the particles."

    View of the starry night sky above trees
    Anadolu / Anadolu via Getty Images

    The Geminids meteor shower as seen in Muskoka, Ontario.

    11. Sounds pretty cool, right? Well, if you didn't catch the Geminids meteor shower on Wednesday, don't worry. According to NASA, its visibility began around Nov. 19 and is expected to last through Dec. 24, though its peak visibility was Dec. 14.

    View of the multicolored starry night sky above trees showing the constellation
    Mert Alper Dervis / Anadolu via Getty Images

    12. In fact, here are a few more photos from the meteor shower.

    YASSER AL-ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images

    13. As seen on early Friday morning north of Kuwait City.

    YASSER AL-ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images

    14. Breathtaking!

    YASSER AL-ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images