"The quarter moon will obscure the first part of the show, but once it sets after midnight [your local time], the conditions should be ideal," said Geza Gyuk, an astronomer at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, Illinois.

"If you can't stay up that late, then after 10 p.m. is okay too, but the later the better."

The missed sleep may be worth it: The Geminids have been rising in intensity and brightness, and the upcoming show may outshine the more famous August Persieds as the best meteor shower of 2010.

"The Geminids have been slowly getting better over the past years, making it one of the best showers," Gyuk said. "And it has become very