December is a busy month for the night skies, what with the winter solstice and the occasional aurora borealis. It also hosts one of the best meteor showers of the year: the Geminids. This often underrated meteor shower does not get the attention the Perseids meteor shower gets, but it often rains down just as many meteors if you are willing to brave the cold to go out and see them.
Geminids, known for its bright and colorful shooting stars, began the show on Thursday and will end on Dec. 17. It is not the longest lasting meteor shower, but don’t let its short length fool you. It has one of the most active peaks of any named meteor shower and is capable of throwing more than 100 meteors an hour in a good year, according to the American Meteor Society. The Geminids meteor shower peaks on Friday into Saturday.
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It comes to Earth thanks to the 3200 Phaethon asteroid. This is unusual because most meteor showers are fed from comets, which tend to have tails made of ice, dust and rock. Asteroids are made of rock and metal, and they typically lack tails. That makes the tail of the 3200 Phaethon unique. The only other major meteor shower fed by an asteroid instead of a comet is the Quadrantids meteor shower in January. The rest are fed by comets.
NASA took a composite image of the Geminids in 2014 that included over 100 meteors at its peak.
How and where to see Geminids
During its peak, the American Meteor Society says the Geminids can spit out upward of 150 meteors an hour at its peak Saturday night, although NASA predicts a much tamer 40 to 50 meteors an hour and its peak to occur Friday night. For the best results, we recommend going out on both Friday and Saturday, just in case.
Like all named meteor showers, the Geminids name is the clue for where to find them. The radiant, the point from which the meteors will appear to originate, is in the Gemini constellation. According to the Stellarium sky map, Gemini will rise out of the eastern sky just after sunset in the Northern Hemisphere. It will be accompanied by Jupiter, so if you can find Jupiter, you are looking in the right spot. Gemini will streak across the sky before ending up on the western horizon at sunrise.
For the best results, the usual skygazing rules apply. People in the city probably will not see any meteors, and those in the suburbs may see only one or two. The optimal viewing experience occurs when you leave the big city to escape light pollution. Then all you have to do is face yourself toward Gemini and Jupiter and wait. Your eyes may need up to 30 minutes to adjust to the darkness, so patience is a virtue.
As with most meteor showers, you will not need any special equipment, and experts recommend that you not take any. Binoculars and telescopes restrict how much of the sky you can see, which may cause you to miss a meteor. The moon, a common source of light pollution when skygazing, will only be 30% full, which means it is unlikely to inhibit meteor shower viewing.
Michelle Nichols, director of public observing at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, also recommends dressing warmer than you think you will need, since you will be outside for a while. She also recommends refraining from alcohol since it can cause you to lose heat faster. This is especially important if you live in the Northeastern US, where another polar vortex is going to drive down temperatures. Make sure to dress appropriately and stay safe.
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