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It’s that time again. Sky watchers may get a chance to catch a glimpse of some of the dozens of meteors streaking across the sky as the annual Geminid meteor shower reaches its peak.

According to Robert Lunsford, fireball reporting coordinator for the American Meteor Society, the Geminids are expected to be most active between noon and 8 p.m. ET on Friday.

During this year’s event, the moon will be 95% full on the night of Thursday and Friday, masking at least 75% of the activity seen in years with little or no moonlight, according to the society. The moon is expected to be at its fullest on Sunday.

In an area away from city lights with clear skies, the best way to view the celestial show is from 9 to 10 a.m. Friday night in any time zone, said Bill Cooke, head of NASA’s Meteoroid Environments Office.

But Lunsford also suggested looking for a view of the meteors in the early hours of Friday and Saturday to avoid the glare of the nearly full moon.

“I would suggest potential viewers try the last few hours before sunrise on the 13th and 14th. At this time the moon will be low in the west and not as disruptive,” Lunsford said.

The American Meteor Society estimates that the Geminids will produce up to 15 visible meteors per hour.

“The moon will be full on the 15th, about a day after peak, so moonlight will wash out the meteors,” Cooke said. “So instead of seeing 40 to 60 meteors per hour, you might see 10 to 15 per hour because of the bright moonlight.”

Even with disturbances from the moon, more meteors will be visible during the peak of the Geminids than most nights of the year, according to the society.

It’s important to look for clear skies, especially as the full moon approaches, Lunsford said. For example, sky watchers should avoid beaches where the sky is hazy and instead seek out a mountain peak.

The Geminids consist of debris released from the asteroid 3200 Phaethon. The celestial object’s close orbit around the sun causes it to shed particles due to the extreme heat, leaving a stream of meteorites around the entire orbit, according to Lunsford. During the first two weeks of December, Earth passes close to the asteroid’s orbit, allowing us to see the Geminids.

According to the Planetary Society, the meteors appear to come from the direction of the constellation Gemini, which rises in the east.

“This time of year, the constellation Gemini is low in the east at sunset, overhead at 2 a.m., and setting in the western sky as the sun rises,” Lunsford said. “That’s why the Geminid meteors can be seen all night long.”

The easiest way to detect the Geminids is to trace the meteors to the two brightest stars in Gemini. But there’s a 90 percent chance that any meteor seen Friday evening and Saturday morning is part of the Geminid shower, Lunsford said.

The next and final major annual meteor shower of 2024 will be the Ursids, which will peak in the early hours of December 22, according to EarthSky.

CNN’s Ashley Strickland contributed to this report.