JACKSON, Wyo. — From Dec. 13 to 14, the Geminid meteor shower will peak and give star-gazers a show that the American Meteor Society (AMS), NASA and Space.com consider the strongest meteor shower of the year.
“The Geminids meteor shower…is considered to be one of the best and most reliable annual meteor showers,” NASA writes.
According to Space.com, the Geminid meteor shower is active between Nov. 19 to Dec. 24 each year and is uniquely the product of an asteroid, not a comet.
“The reliable shower produces bright meteors associated with the asteroid Phaethon, a strange blue rock that acts like a comet,” Space.com writes.
Space.com confirms that records show the Geminid meteor shower is nearly 200 years old; the first recorded observation was in 1833 from a riverboat on the Mississippi River. NASA astronomer Bill Cooke said during a NASA Chats discussion that the shower is stronger today, due to Jupiter’s gravity tugging the stream of particles from the shower’s source, the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, closer to Earth over the centuries.
NASA reports that, during its peak, 120 Geminid meteors can be seen per hour under perfect conditions. According to the AMS, the Geminids are often bright and intensely colored.
The Geminids will peak on the night of Dec. 13, best visible from the Northern Hemisphere, Space.com says. The Geminid meteor shower will appear to originate from the direction of the Gemini constellation, located northeast of the constellation Orion between the Taurus and Cancer constellations.
“But don’t look directly at Gemini to find Geminid meteors, as the shooting stars will be visible across the night sky,” Space.com recommends.
NASA confirms the show starts around 9 or 10 p.m. and will typically go through the night and predawn hours. And the AMS also suggests that star-gazers looking for the Geminids this year turn their back on the moon, which will be roughly 90% full on the night of Dec. 13.
