The Geminid meteor shower peaked on Tuesday night, captivating sky watchers, including one man in Los Angeles who drove off a cliff while viewing the light show.
According to NASA, it's the most intense meteor shower of the year, which lasts for days, is rich in fireballs, and can be seen from almost any point on Earth.
"The Geminids are my favorite," NASA astronomer Bill Cooke said in a statement, "because they defy explanation."
Most meteor showers come from comets, but Geminids are different. According to NASA, "The parent is not a comet but a weird rocky object named 3200 Phaethon that sheds very little dusty debris—not nearly enough to explain the Geminids."
One viewer captured video of a fireball over San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday:
NASA on Sunday caught early footage of another Geminid fireball from a Tennessee camera:
Meteor Shower: A Geminid Fireball 12/11/11
Watch stunning footage from the 2010 Geminid meteor shower, captured from the High Desert in California: