But this year, a bright, nearly full moon will hinder observations of the shower. Observers can hope to see up to 30 meteors per hour. Weather permitting, the Geminids can best be viewed from around midnight to 4 a. The best time to see them is around 2 a. This time is when the Geminid radiant is highest in your night sky. The radiant is the celestial point in the sky from which the paths of meteors appear to originate. Find the darkest place you can and give your eyes about 30 minutes to adapt to the dark.
Avoid looking at your cell phone, as it will disrupt your night vision. Lie flat on your back and look straight up, taking in as much sky as possible. You should soon start to see Geminid meteors! As the night progresses, the Geminid rate will increase. If you see a meteor, try to trace it backwards.
The Geminids are best observed in the Northern Hemisphere, but no matter where you are in the world except Antarctica , some Geminids will be visible. The second week of December heralds the beginning of the strongest meteor shower of the year — the Geminids.
The Geminids are active every December, when Earth passes through a massive trail of dusty debris shed by a weird, rocky object named Phaethon. There is another object — an Apollo asteroid named UD — that is in a dynamically similar orbit to Phaethon, prompting speculation that the two were once part of a larger body that split apart or collided with another asteroid.
Most shower meteors are shed by comets when their orbits take them into the inner Solar System, but the Geminids may be the debris from this long-ago breakup or collision event. When you consider that the Geminid meteor stream has more mass than any other meteor shower, including the Perseids, whatever happened back then must have been pretty spectacular. The nearly First Quarter Moon sets around p. Find the darkest place you can, and give your eyes about 30 minutes to adapt to the dark.
Avoid looking at your cell phone, as it will mess up your night vision. You will soon start to see Geminid meteors. As the night progresses, the Geminid rate will increase, hitting a theoretical maximum of about per hour around 2 a. Bear in mind, this rate is for a perfect observer under perfect skies with Gemini straight overhead.
The actual number for folks out in the dark countryside will be slightly more than 1 per minute. Folks in suburbs will see fewer, 30 to 40 per hour depending on the lighting conditions.
And those downtown in major cities will see practically nothing — even though the Geminids are rich in beautiful green fireballs, the lights of New York, San Francisco, or Atlanta will blot even them out. Dark clear skies are the most important ingredient in observing meteor showers. We are actually going to have a comet visible to the unaided eye this holiday season!
Binoculars or a small telescope are good for taking a peak at Wirtanen, so bring them along for your night of Geminid watching. A green comet to complement the green fireballs! A live broadcast of the meteor shower from a camera in Huntsville, AL if our weather cooperates! Eastern time 8 p. The Geminids are usually one of the best meteors shower of the year, capable of producing or more meteors per hour at a dark site.
The meteors are often bright and colorful. We recommend timeanddate. The Geminids are caused by debris from an asteroid called Phaethon. Phaethon's day orbit carries it closer to the Sun than any other asteroid: roughly 21 million kilometers, less than half the distance of Mercury's closest approach to the Sun.
The Perseids are best seen between about 2 a. The Moon rises at around midnight, so its brightness will affect the peak viewing window. If those hours seem daunting, not to worry! You can go out after dark, around 9 p.
CDT on Aug. All meteors associated with one particular shower have similar orbits, and they all appear to come from the same place in the sky, called the radiant. Meteor showers take their name from the location of the radiant.
The Perseid radiant is in the constellation Perseus. Similarly, the Geminid meteor shower, observed each December, is named for a radiant in the constellation Gemini.
Note that telescopes or binoculars are not recommended because of their small fields of view. Some are sporadic background meteors. And some are from other weaker showers also active right now, including the Alpha Capricornids, the Southern Delta Aquariids, and the Kappa Cygnids. If you see a meteor try to trace it backwards. Try to stay off of your phone too, as looking at devices with bright screens will negatively affect your night vision and hence reduce the number of meteors you see!
A live broadcast of the meteor shower from a camera in Huntsville, AL if our weather cooperates! Eastern time 8 p. CT and continuing until the early hours of August Perseid meteors, caused by debris left behind by the Comet Swift-Tuttle, began streaking across the skies in late July and will peak on August Combine these ideal observing conditions and high rates an average of 60 meteors per hour at the peak with the fact that the best nights for viewing — August 11 to 12 and August 12 to 13 — occur on a weekend and you have a recipe for successfully viewing some celestial fireworks!
Make plans to stay up late or wake up early the nights of August 11 to 12 and August 12 to Note that telescopes or binoculars are not recommended. Some of these events get blown a bit out of proportion. A classic example is that every time Mars comes to opposition closest approach to Earth , the internet reverberates with the very false statement that Mars will appear as large as the Moon at that time. We wish this were true… but no such thing is going to happen.
Show Caption. Hide Caption. An annular "ring of fire" solar eclipse was seen in skies across the world as the sun rose on June 10, Share your feedback to help improve our site!
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