The Geminids, the most intense meteor shower of the year: when and how to see them

() — The best chance to see the most intense meteor shower of the year will be this week.

Known for its bright, intensely colored meteors, the Geminids have streaked across the night sky since late November, with the shower peaking on the night of December 13-14, according to the American Meteor Society.

“If we had to single out one (meteor shower) as the best of the year, year after year, it would be the Geminids,” says Robert Lunsford, the society’s fireball reporting coordinator. “Normally, from let’s say the suburban area, under good conditions, you could probably see 30 to 40 meteors (per hour).”

With clear skies and no bright lights nearby, the Geminids can appear at a rate of about 120 visible meteors per hour, according to NASA. However, there is no escaping the great lighthouse in the sky that will obscure most of the fainter meteors this year: the Moon will shine at 72% of its fullness, according to the American Meteor Society.

“It’s going to be a good shower, even with the moon,” said Bill Cooke, chief of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office.

“Look for a decently dark sky, find something to block the moon, maybe a building or a tree, and look up at the sky away from the moon.”

The rise of the Geminids

The meteor shower was first observed in the mid-19th century and back then it only produced 20 visible meteors per hour at its peak. Since then, the Geminids have reappeared every year, increasing their numbers. In the 1960s, they surpassed the major august perseidswhich at the time were the most powerful shower, with rates of 50 to 100 meteors per hour.

According to Cooke, it is not clear how the Geminids will change in the near future. Some models indicate that the rain will increase in intensity, while others estimate that it will gradually decrease in the coming decades.

The Geminids have the particularity that their origin is the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, while most other meteor showers are born from the remains of icy comets. This is why Geminid showers can be unpredictable, because asteroid breakups are more difficult to model, Cooke explains.

Asteroid 3200 Phaethon is unusual on its own in that it behaves like a comet when it approaches the Sun. In addition, its orbit, which it completes approximately every 1.4 years, is closer to the Sun than that of any other asteroid. As 3200 Phaethon approaches Earth, the asteroid sheds its dusty debris, hence the Geminids spectacle.

How to see the Geminid meteors

The Geminids can be seen from November 19 to December 24, according to EarthSky, but its frequency doesn’t start to hit double digits until December 10, Lunsford explains.

This shower is known to be family-friendly and good for youngsters to watch in North America as it is the only big shower with the most activity. Before midnight. The meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Gemini, which will rise in the sky around 10 pm ET, Lunsford said.

“You can see it when the radiant is at its highest, which is between 1 and 2 a.m. ET in moonlight, or you can try to see it earlier in the evening when the moon is still up. below the horizon,” Lunsford said. “Rates will probably be pretty similar at those times, too.”

The Geminids can be seen from all parts of the world, but for the southern hemisphere, it is best to view towards the middle of the night at 2 am local time, as the radiant will have to be at its highest point to be seen. . The position of the radiant will be low on the horizon and will also cause the meteors to appear at a slower speed, Lunsford said.

According to the data of the NASA meteor camera, the Geminids shower is one of the best in terms of production of fireballs, meteors brighter than the planet Venus, second only to the Perseids, Cooke explained. The largest and brightest Geminid meteors are often said to have a greenish color.

Moonlight has affected viewing of the Geminids for the past two years, but the meteor shower is expected to occur around a new moon in 2023which will create perfect viewing conditions.

“When a meteor burns up in Earth’s atmosphere, we’re looking at something that’s been in space for a long time,” Cooke explains. “Scientifically, studying them allows us to learn something about the composition of comets. To the casual observer, they are beautiful fireworks: meteor showers are nature’s fireworks.”

The next and last great meteor shower of 2022 will be the Ursids, which will reach its maximum on the night of December 22, according to EarthSky.