The Lawrence sky should be quite the scene tonight.

The annual Geminid meteor shower will streak across the night sky after midnight tonight. Local astronomers say it could be the brightest in some time.

“It’s one of the two more reliable showers each year,” said Barbara Anthony-Twarog, a Kansas University professor of astronomy and physics.

Wednesday night promises to be clear in Lawrence, with a small moon rising late into the night.

The meteors should reach peaks of 60 to 120 meteors per hour flashing through the night sky after midnight until about 5 a.m.

Plus, Anthony-Twarog said, a large solar storm could brighten the northern skies in Lawrence tonight.

The best-case scenario, she said, would include aurora-type flares and colors, or at least a red glow coming from the north.

Or Lawrence could see no solar storm effects at all.

“We’re pretty far south,” she said.

Either way, the meteor shower should be something to see. By about midnight, the shower should be directly above us, beginning in the constellation Gemini.

“It seems like all the conditions will be right,” Anthony-Twarog said.