The most consistent meteor shower of the year peaks tonight. It looks like the sky is going to cooperate.

Michigan’s December skies are most often cloudy. Today, however, the warm air moving in from the west has stopped the lake-effect cloud development. The first step in Michiganders being able to see the Geminids meteor shower is to have clear skies. Not all of Michigan will have clear skies. The southern and central part of Lower Michigan will be the areas under the visible stars.

Here is the cloud cover forecast for tonight.

Most of the night the southern half of Lower Michigan will have nice, clear skies. Northern Lower and the U.P. will have high clouds which could block the viewing of the Geminids.

Todd Slisher, astronomer at Longway Planetarium in Flint, says, ”This year a bright waxing gibbous Moon interferes with the view during the evening hours, so the best time to see the Geminids meteors this year is actually early Tuesday morning after the moon has set.” The moon sets before 3 a.m. The best viewing of Geminids meteors will be between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Astronomers like Slisher say the Geminids are one of the two best meteor showers each year. At its maximum capacity, you could see 120 meteors per hour. Slisher says we are more likely to see 20 to 30 meteors per hour.

At least tonight isn’t super cold, with temperatures in the 30s. Astronomers suggest to lay on the ground and look straight up. It will take a while for your eyes to acclimate to the darkness and start to see the meteors.

You can try to see the meteors this evening, but the moonlight will make them harder to view.