The Geminid meteor bathe over Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in China
Jeff Dai/Stocktrek Photos/Alamy
The height of the Geminid meteor bathe, very early on the morning of 14 December, is predicted to dazzle this 12 months. The bathe began on 19 November and can finish on 24 December, however preserve a watch out over the approaching days as a result of exercise is ramping up.
What are meteor showers?
Meteors are shiny flashes of sunshine that transfer shortly throughout the sky. They’re attributable to items of mud and particles from house getting into the ambiance, the place they decelerate and fritter away. This occurs on occasion and may happen at any time. On a given evening of stargazing, you would possibly see a few meteors each hour. Meteor showers are durations in which there’s a notable improve within the variety of meteors, attributable to Earth transferring by way of a path of particles left behind by a comet or asteroid. Due to this, they have a tendency to occur across the similar time every year, as the identical particles trails are encountered many times.
What’s the Geminid meteor bathe?
The Geminids aren’t attributable to a comet, as most meteor showers are, however by an asteroid called 3200 Phaethon. However that is an uncommon asteroid, with a comet-like vapour tail that puzzled astronomers for a while. In 2021, NASA urged it is perhaps attributable to sodium “fizzing” on its floor.
How do I watch the Geminids?
No particular gear is required to look at the Geminids, only a clear sky. This 12 months shall be notably good, as a brand new moon on 12 December means there shall be little or no moonlight, making it simpler to see the bathe towards the evening sky. The Geminids have been identified to supply as much as 150 meteors per hour in darkish skies. You might be unlikely to see that many, particularly if you’re someplace with mild air pollution, however it’s value watching wherever you might be. Even just some are lovely to behold.
How do I discover Gemini?
Like all meteor showers, the Geminids are named after the constellation they seem to return from within the sky – on this case, Gemini. You don’t have to search out Gemini to see the meteors, as they are going to journey throughout the sky. However if you wish to, Gemini is simple to establish due to its two shiny stars, Castor and Pollux.
First, discover Orion and search for its two brightest stars, Rigel and Betelgeuse. Betelgeuse is a reddish star within the prime left of Orion when considered from the northern hemisphere, or its backside proper when considered from the southern hemisphere. The blue-white Rigel is on the backside proper of Orion within the northern hemisphere, however on the prime left within the southern hemisphere.
To search out Gemini, draw a line from Rigel to Betelgeuse, then preserve that line going about the identical distance once more to search out two shiny stars shut to one another: these are Castor and Pollux. That is the place the Geminids will seem to return from.
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