Geminid meteor shower set to put on dazzling display

Geminid meteor shower set to put on dazzling display

By Geoff Gaherty
Published December 10, 2015
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A Geminid meteor. Image credit: Jimmy Westlake

A Geminid meteor. Image credit: Jimmy Westlake

This weekend marks the return of one of the best meteor showers in the
year, the Geminids. They will occur with almost no moon in the sky, so
they will be particularly easy to see.

As the Earth moves around its orbit, it passes through various "debris
fields" â€" collections of small particles shed by various comets of the
past. In rare cases, asteroids rather than comets cause these fields,
and [178]the Geminid meteor shower is one of those exceptions.

This year, the Geminids peak around 1 p.m. EST on Dec. 14. This means
that either the night before or the night of the 14th may be the best
for observing the Geminids. Dress warmly, make yourself comfortable and
prepare to be patient. Meteors are "naked eye" objects; telescopes and
binoculars have too narrow a field of view to catch them.

The Geminids appear to be related to the asteroid 3200 Phaethon. This
very unusual asteroid has an orbit that's more like a comet â€" it comes
closer to the sun than any other named asteroid: less than half of
Mercury's closest distance to the sun. This brings it within 13 million
miles (21 million kilometers) of the sun, and raises its surface
temperature to a scorching 1,390 degrees Fahrenheit (750 degrees
Celsius). It is thought to be a comet that has been stripped of its
ices by its repeated visits close to the sun. [[179]Geminid Meteor
Shower Pictures by Stargazers]

The Geminids, along with the [180]August Perseids, are the two most
active annual meteor showers. They can always be relied upon to put on
a good show, and that is especially true this year, because the moon
will be only a few days old, setting early in the evening.

People who are new to astronomy often aren't sure how to view meteor
showers. While a few meteors are visible on any clear night, during a
meteor shower they are more frequent, but it still requires some
patience to spot more than one or two.

The best view of most meteor showers is after midnight, when the Earth
is heading directly into the meteor particles. The Geminids are unusual
because the point in the sky from which they radiate is in the northern
portion of [181]the constellation Gemini, and so is above the horizon
most of the night for observers in the northern hemisphere.

Beginners often ask which direction they should look for the Geminids.
It really doesn't matter much. Although the meteors appear to radiate
from a point just above the bright stars Castor and Pollux in the
constellation Gemini, they can appear anywhere in the sky. I generally
prefer to look in the east for these meteors.

Sometimes you must wait half an hour or more before seeing a meteor;
then you may get a whole bunch of them in a row. A dark sky is
essential; the moon will not be a problem this year, but any light
pollution will reduce your chances of seeing meteors.

You can probably record some meteors with a digital camera using a time
exposure of from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. In the old days of film,
astrophotographers often wasted a lot of pictures before they got one
or two good shots. With digital cameras, you can simply throw away the
shots that don't show any meteors. As always, we welcome your pictures
of Geminid meteors.

This article was provided to SPACE.com by [182]Simulation Curriculum,
the leader in space science curriculum solutions and the makers of


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