Unfortunately it's not the greatest of nights given the weather and the fact that the moon is close to full. For those who would like to see them, they're called the Geminids because the constellation of Gemini is the part of the sky they appear to originate from, but you can often see meteors from such showers all over the sky regardless of their source (these major meteor showers happen at least half a dozen times a year).
Gemini is rising above the eastern horizon right now (6:30pm GMT). It's not the easiest of constellations to recognise, but if you can find Orion (much easier to pick out) and think of his "head" as 12 o'clock and feet as 6 o'clock, then Gemini is to Orion's immediate left, at about 10 o'clock. The constellation looks like two stick men holding hands, with the brightest stars (Castor and Pollux, denoting their heads) towards the north.
The best way to see meteors is to find a comfortable chair (a reclining deck chair is really good), wrap up warm and sit outside in as much darkness as possible. Then just watch the sky and wait. It can take thirty minutes or for your eyes to properly adjust to the dark. Given a bit of time it's surprising how much detail you can pick out.
If you fancy a really late night, Jupiter is already in the sky, Mars rises at about 11:30pm, Saturn around 3:30am and Mercury around 6:30am. All should be visible to the naked eye on a good night, so you could potentially see all but one of the planets visible without a telescope in a single night.
James
