Geminid Meteor Bathe 13-15 December 2024

The northern horizon at 3:13 am ACDST as seen from Adelaide on Saturday December 14 when the Geminid radiant is at its highest. The Geminid radiant is marked with a starburst. Related views will likely be seen elsewhere in Australia at  the same latitude and the equal native time. (click on to embiggen).	The northern horizon at 1:46am AEST as seen from Brisbane on on Saturday December 14 when the Geminid radiant is at its highest. The Geminid radiant is marked with a starburst. Related views will likely be seen elsewhere in Australia at  the same latitude and the equal native time. (click on to embiggen).	The northern horizon at 3:17 am AEDST as seen from Melbourne on Saturday December 14 when the Geminid radiant is at its highest. The Geminid radiant is marked with a starburst. Related views will likely be seen elsewhere in Australia at  the same latitude and the equal native time. (click on to embiggen).

This 12 months is a poor 12 months for the Geminid meteor bathe. The Geminids are
an uncommon meteor bathe in that their guardian physique is 3200 Phaethon,
an asteroid, moderately than a comet. It’s speculated although that Phaeton
is definitely a “gassed out” comet, and so the particles that makes up the
Geminids should be cometary particles, however is extra probably damaged rock
fragments from its shut strategy to the solar.

The Geminids are normally a reasonably dependable meteor bathe however this 12 months there will likely be important  interference from the Moon.

The Geminids have a broad peak and usually present good exercise
nicely earlier than and after the height on
the day earlier than and after. The nominal peak is December 14, 01h UT, which means in Australia this 12 months a lot of the exercise is focused on the morning of the 14th after dawn, however there’ll nonetheless be first rate charges earlier than twilight (though decrease this 12 months due to the moonlight).

Because the radiant would not rise till simply
earlier than midnight (daylight saving time) in most of Australia and the radiant is highest (with the perfect meteor charges) within the early hours in a slim band round 3 am native time, so you will lose some sleep for this.  Luckily this can be a Saturday, so you’ll be able to sleep in after. 

Northern Australians ought to see a meteor each 1 to 2 minutes below darkish skies within the early morning of the 14th. Clearly below suburban skies you will note fewer. 

You may
discover predictions on your native website at the meteor flux estimator
(select 4 Geminids and date 13-14 December, do not forget to alter the
date to 2024). You’ll have to enter your native latitude and longitude
on your website. I’ve additionally made a desk for main cities under.

Sadly, each Chrome and Firefox have modified their safety
settings to forestall plugins from working, and the flux estimator solely
runs below Web Explorer now OR Edge in Web Explorer mode (click on on the triple dots as soon as the web page has loaded ), it’s a must to have the JAVA plug-in loaded.

You may comply with the progress of the bathe on the IMO Geminids Live page. 

At 3.00 am within the morning AEDST (midnight, AEST) Castor (alpha Geminorum) is about 4 hand-spans above the horizon and virtually due north. Pollux, the opposite twin, is lower than a hand-span to the best once more and under Castor. The radiant is slightly below Pollux. One of the best charges are when the radiant is highest, when it’s due north, the Moon is low to the horizon and earlier than astronomical twilight. That is round 3:30 am ACDST Adelaide ~4:00 ACST Darwin, ~3-3:30 am native time Perth and Brisbane and ~ 3:30-4:00 am AEDST Melbourne, Sydney and Hobart.

If you stand up, enable at least 5
minutes on your eyes to regulate and grow to be darkish tailored (even for those who
have stumbled off the bed at the hours of darkness, this is some hints on darkish adaption of your eyes so you’ll be able to see meteors higher). 

Places at comparable latitudes to the cities within the record can have comparable charges, the extra north you’re the larger the speed. Select a viewing spot the place you’ll be able to see a big swathe of sky with out
timber or buildings getting in the best way, or
with road lights getting in your eyes. Attempt to select a spot the place the moon is hidden from view to protect your night time imaginative and prescient.The darker the spot the higher
(however
do be smart, do not select a spot in an insalubrious park for
instance). 

Labels: geminids, Meteors, unaided eye

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 9:59 pm