Back to forecast
Geminids Meteor Shower Peaks December 13-14
December 13, 2022 at 06:24 AM EST
By Weatherbug Meteorologist John Benedict
Known as the “King of the Meteor Showers” the annual Geminids will peak tonight into Wednesday this week.
Whether you call them "shooting stars," or by their scientific name, meteors, they all begin the same way - as small particles of debris that burn up in the Earth`s atmosphere and emit a visible light trail. Most meteors range in size from a grain of sand to that of a pebble and streak across the sky at 40 miles per second. That`s more than 200 times faster than the speed of sound!
This week’s display is typically one of the favorites for stargazers as it consistently provides around 100 to 120 meteors per hour to viewers. It is called the “Geminids” because the meteors will appear to radiate from the bright star Castor in the constellation of Gemini. The Geminids shower is a bit of an oddity though, as the meteors occasionally tend to streak across other parts of the sky away from the constellation.
These meteors are also denser than others, so they burn up less quickly. Moreover, the Geminids shower tends to see higher frequencies of fireballs, which can last several seconds, light up the entire sky, and produce a wide range of colors including white, green and most commonly yellow.
Almost all other meteor showers can attribute their meteors to pieces of comet debris that the Earth intersects during its yearly orbit around the sun, but the Geminids are different. For more than a century, the source of the Geminids was unknown until an asteroid was discovered in 1983. It was named 3200 Phaethon and was found to be the parent object for the dust and debris that provide us with this meteor shower. The only other meteor showers not related to a comet are the Quadrantids, which begins later this month and peaks in early January, and the northern Taurids, which recently peaked in November.
The Geminids meteor shower began on December 4 and will continue through December 17, but it will peak on December 13-14. The wanning gibbous moon will be around 70 percent illuminated during the peak of the meteor shower. The moon light will unfortunately dim meteors. The best opportunity for viewing meteors will be between 3 AM and dawn, but it could be worth star gazing earlier around midnight while the moon is still low on the horizon.
Even with an illuminated moon, the Geminids are occasionally visible, especially the bright fireballs. Remember that for optimal viewing, you should get as far away from city lights as possible, let your eyes adjust to the darkness for at least a half hour and just use your naked eyes. Telescopes and binoculars will not help you see meteors as they will only limit your field of view.
Viewing conditions across will be best across the West Coast, the Southwest and parts of the southern Plains, south Florida and New England tonight. Clouds will be on the increase for much of the East Coast. A storm system will lead to heavy cloud cover and rain across the Midwest, northern Plains, Great Lakes and Ohio Valley.
Be sure to dress warmly as you’ll likely be spending an extended period of time outside in winter-like temperatures. With some help from Mother Nature, you will get to see one of the year’s best meteor showers.
Image: In this Dec. 13, 2012, photo, a meteor flashes across the sky during the Geminid meteor shower over Springville, Ala. (AP Photo/AL.com, Mark Almond)
Whether you call them "shooting stars," or by their scientific name, meteors, they all begin the same way - as small particles of debris that burn up in the Earth`s atmosphere and emit a visible light trail. Most meteors range in size from a grain of sand to that of a pebble and streak across the sky at 40 miles per second. That`s more than 200 times faster than the speed of sound!
This week’s display is typically one of the favorites for stargazers as it consistently provides around 100 to 120 meteors per hour to viewers. It is called the “Geminids” because the meteors will appear to radiate from the bright star Castor in the constellation of Gemini. The Geminids shower is a bit of an oddity though, as the meteors occasionally tend to streak across other parts of the sky away from the constellation.
These meteors are also denser than others, so they burn up less quickly. Moreover, the Geminids shower tends to see higher frequencies of fireballs, which can last several seconds, light up the entire sky, and produce a wide range of colors including white, green and most commonly yellow.
Almost all other meteor showers can attribute their meteors to pieces of comet debris that the Earth intersects during its yearly orbit around the sun, but the Geminids are different. For more than a century, the source of the Geminids was unknown until an asteroid was discovered in 1983. It was named 3200 Phaethon and was found to be the parent object for the dust and debris that provide us with this meteor shower. The only other meteor showers not related to a comet are the Quadrantids, which begins later this month and peaks in early January, and the northern Taurids, which recently peaked in November.
The Geminids meteor shower began on December 4 and will continue through December 17, but it will peak on December 13-14. The wanning gibbous moon will be around 70 percent illuminated during the peak of the meteor shower. The moon light will unfortunately dim meteors. The best opportunity for viewing meteors will be between 3 AM and dawn, but it could be worth star gazing earlier around midnight while the moon is still low on the horizon.
Even with an illuminated moon, the Geminids are occasionally visible, especially the bright fireballs. Remember that for optimal viewing, you should get as far away from city lights as possible, let your eyes adjust to the darkness for at least a half hour and just use your naked eyes. Telescopes and binoculars will not help you see meteors as they will only limit your field of view.
Viewing conditions across will be best across the West Coast, the Southwest and parts of the southern Plains, south Florida and New England tonight. Clouds will be on the increase for much of the East Coast. A storm system will lead to heavy cloud cover and rain across the Midwest, northern Plains, Great Lakes and Ohio Valley.
Be sure to dress warmly as you’ll likely be spending an extended period of time outside in winter-like temperatures. With some help from Mother Nature, you will get to see one of the year’s best meteor showers.
Image: In this Dec. 13, 2012, photo, a meteor flashes across the sky during the Geminid meteor shower over Springville, Ala. (AP Photo/AL.com, Mark Almond)