Geminid Meteors

Geminid meteors to peak this weekend
EarthSky in TONIGHT | December 12, 2019

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The annual Geminid meteor shower is expected to reach its peak this weekend – though under the glaring light of the almost-full waning gibbous moon. The peak morning is likely to be Saturday, December 14, 2019 – or, possibly, Sunday, December 15, 2019. But the morning of December 13 might offer some meteors, too. These colorful meteors tend to be bright, so you might see as many as 20 or so Geminids per hour, despite the moonlight. On a dark night, free of moonlight, you can easily spot 50 or more meteors per hour. On an optimum night for the Geminids, it’s possible to see 150 meteors per hour … but that won’t happen this year, under the moonlight.

Also know that – although this is one shower you can successfully watch in the (late) evening – the best viewing is typically around 2 a.m., no matter where you are on Earth.

So the best time of night to watch for Geminid meteors is around 2 a.m., when the the shower’s radiant point – near the bright star Castor in the constellation Gemini – is high in the sky.

If you’re not one to stay up late, you can watch for meteors during the evening hours. Although the meteors will be few and far between at early-to-mid evening, you might, if you’re lucky, catch an earthgrazer – a sloow-moving and loong-lasting meteor that travels horizontally across the sky.

December 2020

Under ideal conditions, at its peak, there could be 150 meteors an hour.

The Geminids are one of the most reliable — and most active — meteor showers of the year. And the stars have aligned to make it even better than usual.

On any given night, you might catch a few meteors darting across the sky, but with showers, the chances increase as Earth plows through a stream of debris left over from a passing comet or asteroid.

The main thing that can hamper viewing meteors is the moon. When the moon is up, and particularly when it's close to a full moon, only the brightest meteors can be spotted, particularly from the light-polluted skies in urban areas.

In 2019, for example, during the peak of the Geminids, the moon was almost full.

However, this year, the moon won't be a problem, which means it could be the best show in some time.

The Geminids is an annual shower that runs from December 4 to 17 as Earth moves through debris left from asteroid 3200 Phaethon.
It peaks on the night of December 13–14 and should peak some time around 8 p.m. ET

In order to catch a few of these "shooting stars," all you have to do is head out after dark and look up. You don't necessarily have to look towards Gemini, and you don't need any binoculars or a telescope.

And because the new moon occurs on the 14th, that means that even the fainter meteors will be visible.

The Geminids can produce upward of 150 meteors an hour under ideal conditions, meaning cloud-free and in a dark-sky location. And even better, they tend to be bright and can sometimes produce colorful fireballs.

The shower gets its name from the constellation from which the meteors appear to originate. In this case, it's the constellation of Gemini, which rises in the east after 7 p.m. local time.

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Nicole Mortillaro · CBC News
Posted: Dec 11, 2020

Driving down the dark highway, on my way home from work this early morning (around 3 a.m. my time), the clouds were gone and the stars were out.
Without really taking my eyes off the highway, there were a couple long meteor trails ('shooting stars') that caught my attention, which had me pulling the car off the highway and to a stop so to have a look at the show.
Saw a few of them faint short trialed ones and did also see a few more long trailed ones.
So I prolly saw maybe 6 or 8 meteors in only a short time, maybe 5 minutes while I was stopped there, (plus the two I saw while driving).
Pretty cool :)

Peak time should be tonight (Dec13) and into tomorrow early morning.

Yes, I watched the sky for an hour or so over the last few nights and saw quite a few. It's always a thrill to see one, but when you get to see quite a few in a short period of time, it is way cool!