The twins are back! Party is on in the constellation Gemini as one of the biggest meteor showers of the year peaks this weekend. The Geminids, often underrated sister of the Perseids, is one of the best opportunities to see meteors. This shower that provides meteors aplenty should still be in full swing this week. Its one rival, the Moon, will outshining many of the meteors throughout the night but if you have a chance to look up, it is worth it to see the few that make their mark on the sky.
WHEN is it?
The meteor shower goes from about December 4th through the 17th. But it peaks the mornings of the 13th and 14th (maybe even the 15th). So try to watch it at some point this weekend. Unfortunately there is full moon on the 14. WAH WAHHHH. This means it will be hard to avoid the bright Moon washing out fainter meteors. Fortunately, this meteor shower is one of the more consistent and prolific. So there should be meteors that outshine that pesky moon. The constellation is highest in the sky at 2am so that is when you should ideally be outside but I have definitely caught a few peaking from my window closer to 10/11 pm.
WHERE should you look?
As you can tell by the name, Gemini is the constellation these are close to. If you are watching at the peak time, you don’t need to find the constellation because the entire sky is fair game then but if you are like and want to watch it at a different time you will need to look in the general direction of the constellation. The particular radiant point is out of Castor’s shoulder, but if you find the constellation that should be good enough. If you aren’t that familiar with the sky, don’t worry; you can use an app (like the one I suggested). Pick a star in the constellation and use the app to figure out where the constellation is. You can even figure out when it rises and sets. If you use the app I do, make sure you turn on sky object trajectories and use that as a guide for where the star (or constellation) will be and at what time. It should be on automatically, but in case it is not, it is the button on the upper right of the settings (as shown on the right). Also remember that it is always a good idea not to stare at the exact same constellation all night. Let your eyes wander; where you will see the meteor isn’t an exact science. Sometimes it is helpful to keep your eyes active by looking somewhere else and coming back. These meteors do stray pretty far from the constellation, but if you were to trace their streaks you would find they all originate from the point in Gemini.
WHAT are the meteors made of?
The shooting stars you see are actually not remnants of a comet like most meteor showers. These remnants are from an asteroid that crosses the Earth’s orbit path. We have asteroid 3200 Phaethon to thank for leaving bits of debris behind that burn up in our atmosphere and produce a magnificent light show.
If you don’t feel like watching them real time or are having weather issues check out Slooh’s live broadcast on December 13th 9:00 pm EDT (1:00 14/12 UTC). Slooh requires you to be a member to watch their live broadcast’s but don’t worry becoming a member is free and all you need to provide is an email and name.
Happy Observing!
