Geminids Meteor Shower to peak Friday & Saturday
It has a reputation for being a good one, and this year it looks like the weather will cooperate - but the bright moon will get in our way.
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The Geminid Meteor Shower is here, and the peak is Friday and Saturday.
It has a reputation for being a good one, and this year it looks like the weather will cooperate - but the bright moon will get in our way.
This shower is known as the Geminids because the radiant point is very near Castor in Gemini (the Twins).
The interesting thing about this meteor shower is that it's the first to come from an asteroid rather than a comet.
The parent is Phaethon, an asteroid, discovered in 1983 and it orbits the Sun every 1.4 years.
Some say this could be a "dead" comet, as it has no icy shell.
It comes very close to the sun, closer than any other asteroid, so that's enough for it to crack and shed some dust.
It's a rich shower known for its fast and bright meteors. The average speed of a Geminid is 78,000 mph and they burn up about 45-55 miles up in the atmosphere. Earth cuts through Phaethon's orbit the first three weeks of December, passing through the core on the night of Dec 12-13. The shower ends on the winter solstice (Dec. 21).
The constellation Gemini rises in the East and will be high enough the horizon after about 9 p.m. to view.
The radiant point is near Castor, one of the twins and if you aren’t familiar with where to look – it’s near Orion.
Often that constellation is unmistakable and can even be seen in the not-so-dark skies in the tri-state.
No worries about looking directly at the constellation because the meteors can appear anywhere.
Just keep your eyes open. Dress in warm layers because temperatures will be quite cold, not to mention those really low wind chills. Oftentimes, when out looking for meteors, you’ll spend a lot of time outside in the dark, so be prepared.
