Huddersfield stargazers are in for a treat with the stunning Geminid meteor shower visible in the night sky on Monday.

The meteor shower, which is one of the most spectacular of the year, happens each December when the Earth passes through debris created by asteroid 3200 Phaethon.

Stargazers could enjoy up to 100 meteors or 'shooting stars' an hour during the storm which takes place between December 4 to 17.

What is the Geminid meteor shower?

The Geminid meteor shower takes place every December as the Earth passes through a debris trail from 3200 Phaethon.

The meteors or 'shooting stars' are the result of small particles, in some cases as small as a grain of sand, entering the Earth’s upper atmosphere at some 130,000mph and lighting up the nighttime as fast-moving streaks of light.

It is called the Geminid shower because the meteors appear to come from the part of the sky associated with the constellation Gemini, although really it is the asteroid 3200 Phaethon that causes them.

Geminid meteor shower

When and how can I see the meteors?

The meteor shower is taking place from December 4 to 17.

Its peak activity being around December 14 when up to 100 meteors or 'shooting stars' can be seen every hour.

The shower can be seen across the world.

Just wrap up warm and head outside and find a spot of night sky away from the bright town lights and look up.

Give yourself at least an hour of observing time as the meteors can come in spurts and are interspersed with lulls.

See pictures taken from around the world of the Geminid meteor shower below...

If you see the Geminid meteor shower send your videos to us at digital@examiner.co.uk or on Twitter @Examiner

How do I photograph the meteors?

It’s not going to be easy snapping the meteors as they trail across the sky as they are moving so quickly.

You should try and get as far away from ambient light as possible - the centre of the city is going to have too much light pollution.

Then you want to wait for the moon to set (around midnight at this time of year) - that’s when the night is at its darkest.

Then you’ll need a good DSLR camera with a wide-angled lens, spare batteries, a tripod and a cable release chord (to take the picture without having to touch the body of the camera).

Geminid meteor shower

The wider the angle of the lens, the more of the sky you can take in, which increases your chance of snapping the showers.

You’ll then need to use a long exposure - at least 30 seconds in order to capture a dark background and some bright stars and, hopefully, shooting stars.

At the peak of the Geminids, you should be able to capture something with a bit of trial and error.

If you leave the exposure open much longer, you’ll start to see the stars blurring as the Earth rotates.

If I don't have a DSLR camera can I use my smartphone?

Yes, you can. You will still need a tripod to keep the camera steady and a cable release chord - there are apps that let you use your headphones' cable volume button to activate the shutter.

You'll also need a long-exposure app such as LongExpo or Time Exposure.