GEMINIDS - SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
News: What
is the Geminids meteor shower, and where can you watch it
What's in the news?
● This
year, the Geminids peaked around December 13-14, when, with a clear sky and
away from bright city lights, you can watch scores of meteors streak across the
sky.
● NASA
describes the Geminids as “one of the
best and most reliable annual meteor showers”. If their peak coincides with
the new moon, and if the weather is clear, the Geminids can produce
approximately 100-150 meteors per hour for viewing.
● This
year however, the moon is bright, and so only 30-40 meteors per hour will be
visible in the Northern Hemisphere. “But the Geminids are so bright that this
should still be a good show,” NASA says.
What causes meteor showers?
● Meteors are usually
fragments of comets. As they enter the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed, they burn up,
creating a spectacular “shower”.
● According
to NASA, “Meteors come from leftover comet particles and bits from asteroids.
When these objects come around the Sun, they leave a dusty trail behind them.
Every year Earth passes through these debris trails, which allows the bits to
collide with our atmosphere where they disintegrate to create fiery and
colorful streaks in the sky.”
What makes the Geminids unique?
● NASA
describes the Geminids as “one of the best and most reliable annual meteor
showers”.
● If
their peak coincides with the new moon, and if the weather is clear, the Geminids can produce approximately 100-150
meteors per hour for viewing.
● The Geminids are unique
because unlike most meteor showers, they originate not from a comet, but from
an asteroid, the 3200 Phaethon.
● Phaethon:
○ The
3200 Phaethon was discovered on October 11, 1983. It is named after the Greek
mythology character Phaethon, son of the Sun God Helios.
○ It
takes 1.4 years to complete one round of the Sun.
○ As
the 3200 Phaethon moves close to the Sun while orbiting it, the rocks on its
surface heat up and break off.
○ When
the Earth passes through the trail of this debris, the Geminids are caused.
Why are they called Geminids?
● That
comes from the constellation Gemini,
from whose location in the sky the meteor shower appears to originate.
● According
to NASA, “The constellation for which a meteor shower is named only serves to
aid viewers in determining which shower they are viewing on a given night. The
constellation is not the source of the meteors. Also, you should not look only
to the constellation of Gemini to view the Geminids - they are visible
throughout the night sky.”