The best Geminid meteor shower photos

During the 2009 Geminid meteor shower, veteran astrophotographer Tony Rowell braved below freezing temperatures at elevations above 9,000 feet in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains. To light this snow covered Christmas tree near Rock Creek Lake, he used his Celestron portable power pack with a 110 converter. His efforts were rewarded by this extremely bright fireball during a 20 second exposure.

Amirreza Kamkar perfectly framed this photo of Jupiter and the rocks of Tandis Valley in Qeshm, Iran. Then, he waited for the Geminids to arrive. He caught two meteors streaking beneath the brilliant glow of the gas giant.

For days before the 2009 Geminids, Turkish astrophotographer Tunç Tezel watched clouds swamp the skies. They cleared just in time for the shower's peak, and he headed to the high elevation Kirazliyayla meadow in Uludag National Park near Bursa, Turkey. Despite more than a foot of fresh snow, he was able to make this composite of 26 Geminids radiating from Castor and scattering everywhere.

John Chumack caught this fireball over a friend's home in Warrenton, Virginia, during the 2014 Geminid meteor shower. "The Geminid meteors often show the Color in their trails nicely!" he says.

Legendary astrophotographer Tony Hallas knows a good meteor shower when he sees one. And after taking hundreds of exposures during a recent lackluster year, he felt lucky to have netted this keeper of a bright Geminid tearing past Orion. Fortunately, this year's Geminids should put on a strong show.