A Geminid meteor streaks across the sky. (Stephen Rahn / Flickr Creative Commons)

Clear skies, a new moon and relatively warm temperatures will make for a great opportunity to catch the peak of the Geminid meteor shower Thursday — even in Chicago.

Joe Guzman, aka the Chicago Astronomer, spent 90 minutes meteor-watching Wednesday night and saw five meteors from his “inner city backyard” — including one at 12:30 a.m. with a long streak — and likely missed several more, he shared in a Facebook post.

“Yep, you sure can see meteors from under city lights,” Guzman said, adding that no telescope or binoculars are required.  

Others chimed in with sightings on the city’s Northwest Side and Rogers Park. 

Sky watching is always a crapshoot in the city, but for once the stars are aligning for Chicagoans. After a cloudy start to December, the skies have cleared just as the Geminids hit their peak, Dec. 13-14. And a two-day-old new moon means the skies won’t just be clear, they’ll be darker, allowing the meteors to shine through.

For the best view of the Geminids — which are asteroid debris — the Adler Planetarium recommends facing east and giving your eyes at least 20 minutes to get acclimated to the darkness. 

If you know your constellations, the Geminids appear to originate from the Gemini constellation, but will streak all over the sky from that radiant point, according to the Adler.

The absolute optimal time for viewing will be 2 a.m., but Chicagoans reported seeing them much earlier Wednesday, between 9 and 11 p.m.

As for those claims of 120 meteors per hour, Guzman just said, “No.”

Contact Patty Wetli: @pattywetli | (773) 509-5623 |  [email protected]