EXPLANER
Considered an annual favorite, the Geminids meteor shower, which peaks tonight, is expected to intensify each year.
Tuesday’s new moon left dark skies for one of the brightest moons of the year. meteor showers to shine even more brightly.
The Geminids meteor shower will peak on Thursday around 19:00 GMT and will remain visible intermittently until December 24. Its unique formation sets it apart from the estimated 30 meteor showers visible on Earth each year.
Here’s what to know about the display and how to watch it:
What is the Geminid meteor shower?
The Geminid meteor shower is a celestial event that occurs every December and takes its name from constellation “Gemini”.
It is also one of two annual showers that form when Earth passes through debris left by asteroids, unlike other meteor showers which are formed by comet debris.
An asteroid is made of rock while comets are balls of ice and dust. When either enters the Earth’s atmosphere in large quantities, it burns up, creating streaks of light or a “meteor shower.”
A asteroid named 3200 Phaethon was discovered as a source of Geminid meteors in the mid-1980s, while the first recorded observation of the shower occurred in 1862.
What time is the peak and where can you get the best view of the meteor shower?
The event is expected to peak at 19:27 GMT on December 14 while continuing to be visible until dawn.
The best time to watch the shower is between midnight and 2 a.m. local time, regardless of time zone, according to the Planetary Society.
The late night darkness and new moon will bring the vibrant shower center stage, especially if skies remain clear. Next year’s Geminid rain will occur during the bright rays of the full moon and will be less visible.
Where and how to observe the Geminids meteor shower?
Skywatchers can observe the shower directly or watch a live stream hosted by the telescope networks.
The Slooh Robotic Telescope Network and the Virtual Telescope Project will broadcast the event on their YouTube channels from 22:30 GMT and 23:00 GMT respectively on Thursday.
Although the display will be visible worldwide, the best showers will occur in the Northern Hemisphere and people in the Southern Hemisphere will witness those with lower rates. Areas with clearer skies will reveal more visible showers.
NASA said it will take about 30 minutes in the dark for the eyes to adjust and start seeing meteors clearly.
What is the direction and appearance of the meteor shower?
The Geminids could shoot out 120 visible meteors every hour, making it the strongest shower of the year, according to NASA.
The further we are from light pollution, the more likely they are to see the shower in all its ferocity. Otherwise, the average person in their backyard would see about half that amount, or one to two meteors per minute, after midnight.
The Geminids move at 35 km per second (22 miles per second), or more than 40 times faster than a speeding bullet, according to NASA.
Scientists said the Geminid shower could also intensify each year, especially compared to the 10 to 20 meteors per hour recorded in the mid-1800s.
Although the meteors appear to come from the same region of the sky as the Gemini constellation, viewers do not need to look toward the constellation to see the Geminid shower: it will be visible across the entire sky, in no particular direction. In fact, meteors close to the “radiant,” or point of origin, are easily missed due to shorter trails, NASA said.
The streaks are very shiny and white, although they can take on colored hues depending on the chemical composition of the debris. For example, nickel produces green and sodium and nitrogen create red or orange.
