A moonless Monday night saw Australian sky-gazers light up social media with photos of the year's strongest celestial fireworks. 
Braving tired eyes and sore necks, Australians took to their decks, roofs and patios to catch a glimpse of the spectacular Geminids meteor shower.  
A pic of tonight's #Geminids meteor shower. pic.twitter.com/nabCv2Em2v
??? Matt Aquila Marshall (@mattdmarshall)     December 14, 2015
Spent an hour watching #Geminids at 2:30am. Spectacular. Amazing how humbling staring into the night sky can be.
??? Liz Ellis (@LizzyLegsEllis)     December 14, 2015
The shooting-stars show was best watched after midnight, with some keen observers staying up to catch the peak period between 2am and 4am on Tuesday morning. 
As the #Geminids hashtag began trending late last night Australians took to Twitter to share their pictures.
Media personality and comedian Wendy Harmer reported seeing eight 'shooting stars' from Collaroy on Sydney's northern beaches. 
Eight "shooting stars" spotted in the last hour. Sydney's northern beach at Collaroy #Geminids
??? Wendy Harmer (@wendy_harmer)     December 14, 2015
The #Geminids put on a pretty good show this morning from S of Brisbane! #GeminidMeteorShowerpic.twitter.com/ygtRQyaG2h
??? MartyPhotography (@MartyPouwelse)     December 14, 2015
Join us for tonight's #Geminids meteor shower! Our experts answer #askNASA Qs 11pm-3am ET: https://t.co/7Z1mJWlmWNpic.twitter.com/5b054oOcCn
??? NASA (@NASA)     December 13, 2015
The fiery peak of the Geminids meteor shower was expected between midnight and dawn with the last Geminids fading as the sun began to rise. 
Between 50 and 100 shooting stars were forecast every hour during the peak period, with some expected to be glowing in multiple colours and the occasional burst of two or three. 
The annual Geminids shower, first observed in the 1860s, occur as the Earth passes through a debris stream from a disintegrating asteroid named 3200 Phaethon.
While most meteors are small pieces of dust, the Geminids are about the size of a pea or a fingernail, making it the best shower for people to watch.
They are called the Geminid meteors because, if you trace them back along their path they seem to originate from somewhere near the Zodiac "twins" constellation of Gemini, representing Castor and Polydeuces, the twin sons of Zeus.