THE GEMIND METEOR SHOWER PEAKING ON DECEMBER 13TH-14TH!!! – ONE OF THE MOST PROLIFIC METEOR SHOWERS OF THE YEAR! - BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR SHOOTING STARS!!!! 💖🌠 ✨️
QUICK SUMMARY
Parent Body – Asteroid 3200 Phaethon
Radiant Constellation – Gemini
Shower activity between – 3rd – 19th of December
Peak activity – 13th - 14th December
Peak meteor count – up to 150 meteors an hour in perfect conditions
December really is a great time for meteor showers, with several active throughout the month, including the Phoenicid Meteor Shower, the φ-Cassiopeid Meteor Shower, the Puppid-Velid Meteor Shower, the Monocerotid Meteor Shower, the σ-Hydrid Meteor Shower, the Comae Berenicid Meteor Shower, the Leonis Minorid Meteor Shower the Ursid Meteor Shower, and lastly but definitely not least the king of meteor showers - The Geminids Meteor Shower.
For the purpose of this post, we will focus on the great Geminid meteor shower which is often considered by many to be the best, most reliable, prolific meteor shower of the year, producing up to 150 or more multi-coloured meteors per hour at its peak. It's also thought that this meteor shower is intensifying every year! The Geminids Meteor Shower is active from the 3rd of December to the 19th of December and peaks on the night of the 13th - 14th.
We will be hosting a public stargazing event on the peak night of the Geminid meteor shower too! If you would like more information, or to book onto one of our stargazing events, please visit our website www.astro-dog.co.uk! All in all it’s a great time to spot meteors and well worth spending an hour or two out star gazing on these beautiful but chilly Autumnal/Winter nights. If you would like more information please read on…
THE GEMINID METEOR SHOWER
The Geminid meteor shower is so named because the radiant from which its meteors appear to radiate from is located within the famous constellation of Gemini. This annual autumnal/winter meteor shower is considered by many as one of the most reliable, fruitful and beautiful meteor showers of the year. The Geminids are known for lighting up the skies with bright and fast multicoloured meteors that can leave long-lingering, ionised gas trails for multiple seconds. Geminid meteors are often white in colour, with some yellow and a few green, red and blue. These colours are partly caused by the presence of traces of metals like sodium and calcium, the same effect that is used to make fireworks colourful. An interesting fact is that the beautiful streaks that we see in the night sky are often caused by particles as small as a grain of sand!
At its peak this shower is projected to produce up to 150 meteors an hour under perfect, clear, dark skies. Although light pollution and other factors mean that these numbers may be far less. This meteor shower is also known for producing fireballs, which are exceptionally bright meteors (brighter than Venus) or bolide meteors (brighter than the Moon) that blaze across the night sky amazing all those that witness them. Sometimes you can even observe these meteors exploding and breaking up into fragments which we witnessed with all of our guests during one of our stargazing events. These meteors are typically travelling at a velocity of 22 miles per second and they enter the Earth's atmosphere at a speed of roughly 79,000 miles per hour, Wow!
WHERE DO METEORS COME FROM? / PARENT BODY
Most of the major meteor showers originate from comet debris. However, together with the Quadrantids, the Geminids and Quadrantids are the only major meteor showers known to not originate from comets.
The meteors from the Geminid meteor shower are produced by debris left behind by an asteroid known as 3200 Phaethon.
Asteroid 3200 Phaethon is a small asteroid measuring just over 3 miles in diameter and takes 1.4 years to orbit the Sun. Scientists are not sure how to define Phaethon, it is thought Phaethon could be a "dead comet" or a new kind of object that certain scientists call a "rock comet." Normal asteroid orbits are circular, but Phaethon follows a highly elliptical comet-like orbit around the Sun. When Phaethon passes by the Sun it does not develop a cometary tail, and its spectra is that of a rocky asteroid.
3200 Phaethon was discovered on Oct. 11, 1983, by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite. Phaethon is named after the figure from Greek mythology that drove the Sun-God Helios' chariot, as it travels very close by to the Sun.
WHAT CAUSES THE LIGHT FROM METEORS?
As a comet or asteroid travels through space, it leaves a trail of dust and debris behind it. When Earth intersects this trail of debris, we slam into the dust and debris. The debris then enters the Earth’s atmosphere at incredibly high speed, generating immense amounts of energy released in the form of intense heat and light. Meteors tend to vary from the size of a sand grain to about as big as a pea. The bigger the piece of debris, the bigger and brighter the meteor.
When a particle strikes the upper atmosphere at high speed, it heats up to around 1,650° C and starts to glow. The meteoroid also compresses and heats the air in front of it, exciting atoms like oxygen which in turn radiate light. Together, the two processes produce the bright, needle-like flashes called meteors or "shooting stars."
METEOR COLOURS ❤️💙💜🧡💛☄️
As the Geminid meteors are made up of debris from an asteroid, they are more likely to contain more different gaseous elements compared to comet debris meteors. These elements become ionised as they travel through Earth’s atmosphere and emit a beautiful range of different coloured meteor trails as the dust size particles burn up in the atmosphere. The colours that are emitted depend on the element contained in the meteor.
Here are the colours associated with different elements found in meteors: 👇
🟠 Orange-yellow — sodium;
🟡 Yellow — iron;
🔵 Blue-green — magnesium;
🟣 Violet — calcium;
🔴 Red — atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen.
The speed at which the meteor enters the Earth’s atmosphere can also affect the color. The faster a meteor moves, the more intense it’s colour may appear.
WHEN IS THE PEAK / THE BEST NIGHT TO WATCH?
The Geminid meteor shower occurs annually, and this year will be active from 4th to the 20th of December. The shower peaks on the night of the 13th and the morning of the 14th, but don’t worry if you miss the peak night, there’s plenty of time to look out for meteors over the next few weeks.
WHERE TO LOOK / THE RADIANT
The Geminid meteor shower is so named because the radiant from which the meteors appear to radiate from is located within the famous constellation of Gemini, containing the two bright stars Castor and Pollux. The exact location for the Geminid radiant can be found just next to the bright star Castor.
Meteors seen closer to the radiant will appear shorter / leave shorter trails compared to others further away from the radiant.
You don’t need to know exactly where the meteors radiate from because meteors can appear anywhere in the sky. However, knowing where the radiant is may help you increase your chances of viewing meteors. If you can locate the radiant, we would typically recommend to try looking at a dark part of the sky around 45 degrees away to maximise your chances of viewing meteors. However, factors such as the Moon and your viewing locations light pollution can determine how effective this strategy may be.
On the nights around this year's Geminid meteor shower peak we would recommend keeping your back to the Moon in order to maximise your chances of viewing meteors (please read on to find out more about the Moon and it's effect on your meteor shower experience).
WHAT TIME TO LOOK / RADIANT CONTINUED
The radiant for this year’s Geminid meteor shower will rise during twilight at roughly 15:29pm towards the North North East, and will reach its highest point in the sky (aka transit) at roughly 01:58am towards the South. It will be best to watch for meteors when the radiant is higher in the sky, however if you head out earlier you might be treated to something called an “Earth grazer” meteor (long, slow, colourful meteors that graze the Earth’s atmosphere).
The main thing we need to know about a meteor shower radiant, is that it has risen from the horizon. Once the radiant has risen in the sky there will be higher chance of seeing meteors, and the higher the radiant is the more meteors will be visible. If you wait until gone midnight, the radiant will be higher in the sky, and you will have a much greater chance of seeing meteors.
As with many meteor showers (depending on the Moon phase and position) the best time to head out and watch a meteor shower display is usually between midnight and dawn, when the radiant is high in the sky and the skies are darkest. Don’t worry if you can’t head out this late, there should still be plenty of meteors about earlier in the night. The Geminid meteor shower is also one of the few major meteor showers that shows very good activity before midnight.
THE MOON / DARK SKIES
Sometimes the glow of the Moon can interfere with a meteor shower and spoil meteor shower views by lighting up the night sky and washing out the fainter meteors. When the Moon is bright it leaves only the brightest of meteors visible.
Unfortunately for this year’s Geminids, the Moon will be 96% illuminated and high in the sky all night long on the peak night of the 13th. This means that only the brightest Geminid meteors will be visible. Even though the Moon will be hindering our meteor viewing somewhat, the Geminid shower is famous for being a very strong meteor shower and is well known for producing many bright meteors, including meteors so bright that they outshine the Moon. So even with the almost full Moon about, it’s still worth going out and meteor spotting over the next few nights!
JOIN US IN DALBY FOR THE GEMINID METEOR SHOWER AND PEAK NIGHT!
We will be hosting a public stargazing event at our stargazing hub in Dalby Forest on the peak night of the Geminid meteor shower on 13th of December and also nights surround the peak on the 12th (tonight!) and 14th which will also show very strong meteor activity.
Dalby Forest with it’s beautiful dark skies is an ideal place to watch out for meteors and we have witnessed countless unforgettable bright meteors blazing across the skies above Dalby. We will also be hosting events on other nights throughout the month of December while this shower is active, so if you would like to join us in Dalby for a night of fun learning, stargazing and meteor watching, please head to our website at www.astro-dog.co.uk!
VIEWING TIPS
• You don’t need a telescope or any special equipment, just your eyes and a bit of patience.
• Find a safe, dark location with clear unobstructed views and as far away from streetlights as possible. The darker your location, the more meteors you will see. Don’t worry if you can’t get somewhere dark, even if your viewing location isn’t very dark, you should still see the brighter meteors.
• Allow your eyes to adjust to the darkness and you will see more meteors. Our eyes require time to adjust to low levels of light. Try not to look at bright lights (such as a phone or the moon) for around 15-30 minutes and this will allow you to see many more meteors. If you do require to use a torch, use one which emits red light as this interferes with your night vision less than white light.
• We recommend keeping your back to the Moon to stop it from interfering with your night vision. Keeping your back to the Moon will also ensure you will be looking towards the darkest portion of the sky.
• Another tip that can help mitigate the effects of the Moon can be to use a nearby large object (such as a building or tree) to block the Moon from your view. This will ensure the Moon will not be able to affect your night vision.
• You might want to take a blanket to lay on or a chair to recline in, so your neck doesn’t get strained whilst looking up.
• The best time to view meteors will be from midnight on the night of the 13th-14th of December, once the radiant has risen high in the sky. However it be possible to view meteors all night long on the peak night and for several days before and after.
• If you head out, wrap up well! It is very chilly at this time of year, and you may end up being too cold to stay out and see any meteors. Bring a blanket to cover yourself in and a flask with a warm drink for extra comfort. ❄️🧤🧣
• You may wish to gather some of your friends and family to share this magical occasion too. You could always host a meteor watching party with music and drinks (but no bright lights!) or you could also join us in Dalby for a special night of stargazing and meteor viewing!
CLOSING WORDS FROM ASTRO DOG
We can’t wait to see if we witness any amazing fireballs over the next few nights and during our stargazing events throughout December!
As ever, interactions or shares are a great help, and we are eternally grateful for all your support.
We wish you all good luck and clear skies!!! 💖
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