The Geminid meteor shower tonight This December, the famed Geminid meteor shower will shower brilliant shooting stars. However, the Geminids aren’t likely to have a particularly magnificent year in 2021, since the shower’s peak on December 13-14 falls only a few days before the full moon.
According to the American Meteor Society, skywatchers can view up to 150 meteors per hour on the night of the peak when there is no interference from moonlight.
According to Space.com’s skywatching contributor Joe Rao, the 2021 Geminid meteor shower may only generate maximum rates of 60 to 120 visible meteors per hour owing to inference from moonlight, and many of them may seem rather weak. This is because the rising gibbous moon’s brightness will overpower all save the brightest meteors.
Where can you get a glimpse of the Geminids?
The Geminids may be seen all across the world, but mainly in the Northern Hemisphere, according to NASA. It’s also perfect for younger astronomy fans, as you may start watching it about 9 or 10 p.m.
The ideal time to see the Geminids is throughout the night and early morning hours. ……. suggests staying up until dawn when the moon sets about 2 a.m. local time. That’s because the moon’s brightness may make it difficult to detect meteors, and the moon will be near to full Monday night.
Go somewhere distant from city lights with a clear view of the sky for the best possibility of viewing meteors. Because your eyes will take some time to adjust to the darkness, ………. suggests observing for an hour or longer.
Remember that these meteors usually arrive in bunches, with lulls in between. It’ll be cold, so bring a lawn chair, blankets, and maybe a sleeping bag for the most comfortable experience.
What is the origin of the Geminids?
The Geminid meteor shower is named after the Greek legendary character who drove the sun god’s chariot. Most meteor showers are caused by ice, dusty comets, but the Geminids are caused by a stony asteroid called 3200 Phaethon. Read more about Asteroid 3200 Phaethon hit Earth
But there’s a catch. According to NASA, Phaethon may not be an asteroid at all! Instead, it might be a rock comet or a dead comet, an asteroid that travels so near to the sun that the heat scorches its fragments.
The Geminids have a mystical aura about them, yet they’re still one of the year’s most popular astronomical spectacles. They’ve also been around for a while.
The earliest Geminid meteor showers were observed in the 1800s, according to NASA, but they were not as spectacular, with just 10 to 20 meters each hour. That’s a big cry from the Geminids of today. According to NASA, during the shower’s height, you may view 120 Geminid meteors every hour under ideal circumstances.
What was the original cause of the meteor shower?
The Geminids are linked to the 3200 Phaethon asteroid, a near-Earth object that may have hit with another object in the past to form the stream of particles that Earth encounters, resulting in a meteor shower. In 1833, a steamboat on the Mississippi River witnessed the meteor shower for the first time.
According to Space.com, the asteroid rounds the sun every 1.4 years. The asteroid passes quite near to the sun and occasionally gets close to Earth
Geminids: where do they come from?
As per Nasa, the Geminids are formed by debris from a celestial body known as 3200 Phaethon, whose origin is a source of debate. While some scientists believe it is from an extinct comet, others believe it is an asteroid due to its orbit and similarities to the main-belt asteroid Pallas.
According to measurements, the Individual elements are denser than meteors from past showers, allowing them to fall as low as 29 miles over Earth’s crust before burning.
Geminids initially appeared in the mid-nineteenth century. The early showers, however, were unremarkable, with just 10 to 20 meteors per hour visible. Since then, the Geminids have evolved into one of the year’s most prominent showers.
Conclusion
The Geminid meteor shower is unique in that it is one of only two that does not have a parent comet. The Geminid meteor shower, discovered in 1983, is the only one with an asteroidal parent body known as 3200 Phaethon. The Geminids, like every other meteor shower, is called for the constellation from which they appear to emanate, in this instance the constellation Gemini.
Geminids have been seen since the mid-1800s, and their numbers have been steadily increasing. While original measurements were approximately 10-20 meteors per hour, sky-gazers may now expect to see around 150 per hour during the peak, making it one of the most popular annual meteor showers. Geminid meteors are also denser than meteors from other showers, allowing them to reach as near to Earth’s surface as 29 miles before burning up.