NASA unveils stunning photo of Geminids Meteor Shower ahead of peak this weekend

NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day is this stunning photo of the Geminids Meteor Shower, which was snapped in Chile in 2013

While a meteor shower is stunning to behold, a new photo of the Geminids Meteor Shower is even more exceptional, thanks to a special appearance from Jupiter .

Photographer Yuri Beletsky snapped the photo in Chile back in 2013, but NASA has now featured it as its Astronomy Picture of the Day.

In the photo, the meteors all appear to be streaming out from the same point in the sky.

NASA explained: “When the Earth crosses a stream of Sun-orbiting meteors, these meteors appear to come from the direction of the stream - with the directional point called the radiant. 

“An example occurs every mid-December for the Geminids meteor shower, as apparent in the featured image.

“Recorded near the shower's peak in 2013, the featured skyscape captures Gemini's shooting stars in a four-hour composite from the dark skies of the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile.”

The foreground of the photo features the du Pont Telescope, as well as the SWOPE telescope, as well as a beautiful setting sun.

Meanwhile, the skies also feature Jupiter seen as the bright spot near centre of the image, the central band of the Milky Way, seen vertically on the left of the image, and the Orion Nebula on the far left.

NASA added: “Dust swept up from the orbit of active asteroid 3200 Phaethon, Gemini's meteors enter the atmosphere traveling at about 22 kilometers per second.”

This year’s Geminids meteor shower will peak this weekend, providing you with the perfect opportunity to see a shooting star yourself!