Here’s how the Geminid meteor shower appeared at Big Meadows in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia last night – courtesy of wildlife photographer Peter Forister.

The US still has a few hours to wait until the sun goes down and the shooting stars appear, but hopefully we get some pictures from tonight’s shower in the UK.

To give yourself the best chance of seeing the meteors, you’re going to want to be in the best spot. There are a lot of things to do to make sure you look your best.

The usual advice is that it’s best to get away from buildings and other light sources when viewing the meteor shower. In many places in this kind of year it is going to be very difficult, given the weather.

Due to the intensity of the moonlight this year, you might do well to sit in the shade of a house or tree. This will help you avoid your view being blocked by the bright moon.

Otherwise, enter as large and dark an area as possible given the conditions. Light pollution like streetlights will make it even harder to see the sky, so even a slight reduction in the amount of interference will help.

Once that’s done, look up. Meteors will seem to come from anywhere in the sky, so as long as you look towards the stars you’re in, you have a chance of seeing one.

(They’ll appear to be from the constellation Gemini – hence their name – but just looking at it can actually limit how many you’ll see. Instead, pick a dark part of the sky and stay alert.)

According to the latest forecast from the Met Office, most of the UK and Ireland are currently enjoying remarkably good weather to see the Geminid meteor shower tonight.

This is what the weather map currently looks like:

For anyone on the South Coast or East Anglia, don’t lose heart. The skies will clear up as the night progresses, with the best views offered in the early morning. Likewise, anyone in Ireland better get out now to check the shower, as they might not have much time to do so,

Here is the current Met Office forecast for 5am:

Professional photographers have given their tips for capturing the Geminid meteor shower, all saying some sort of tripod to stabilize the camera is essential.

It’s also worth using a tripod to take photos with a smartphone, as any camera shake can compromise the quality of the images – but if you don’t have one handy, you can just put your phone on a windowsill.

Arguably the best technique is to use a time-lapse feature on your camera or smartphone, although for anyone without these capabilities there are other methods that can help capture shooting stars.

David Reneke, astronomer and writer for Australia’s science magazine, advises anyone who uses an SLR or DSLR camera to play around with your camera’s aperture settings to photograph the night sky.

Burst settings can also capture multiple photos at once.

For older smartphones that use digital zoom rather than optical zoom, it’s usually best not to use zoom as it may compromise image quality. Instead, take the photo and then crop it.

The new phones have amazing zoom capabilities that can take detailed pictures of distant objects. Other cameras have special features to enhance night sky images, such as Google Pixel’s Astro mode.

According to Anna Gammon-Ross, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Geminid meteor shower will begin to be visible in the UK tonight from 6 p.m. GMT. It’s now, so if the sky is clear in your area, take a look outside.

“For the best chance of spotting Geminids, find a dark area of ​​clear sky and allow about 20 minutes to let your eyes adjust to the dark,” she says. “It may also be advisable to lie down because you may look up for a long time.”

If you miss them tonight, don’t worry. Anna says they will still be visible until December 20.

The weather may be excellent (at least in the UK) to see the Geminid meteor shower tonight, but a recent full moon means it will be a bit more difficult than if the Moon were closer to a new moon.

NASA predicts between 30 and 40 “shooting stars” per hour at its peak.

“Don’t miss the annual Geminid meteor shower,” NASA tweeted.

“A waning gibbous moon will make it harder to see most of the shower, but the Geminids are burning so hot that up to 30-40 should be visible per hour!”

The weather could hardly be better for a December evening, with the UK Met Office predicting clear skies in most parts of the country tonight.

Besides parts of Cornwall and Devon, people in England and Wales should be able to expect a good performance once the sun goes down. Unfortunately, conditions in the North East of Scotland and Northern Ireland do not look ideal.

Here’s what the weather will look like at 22:00 GMT tonight, according to the latest Met Office forecast:

The true peak of the meteor shower is early on December 14. There is still a little time to see it, but not a lot of time. The last opportunity is December 17, although there won’t be much to see then.