The Gemini meteor caught on in its final, flammable moments.
NASA
This Be firm Meteor showers attract a lot of attention because they are active during summer nights in the Northern Hemisphere, but Geminids are really the strongest year, and conditions are ideal this year. The 2020 Geminid meteor shower is now officially active and building towards its larger peak. On Sunday, December 13 and Monday, December 14, it is possible to see 150 meteors per hour under ideal conditions.
Even better, this is one of the few big meteor showers that you can do to catch the best part. Don’t demand to wake up well before. According to the American Meteorological Society, Gemini “provides good activity before midnight because the Gemini constellation is well held from 22:00.”
This literally means that the boils that appear to be coming out of the celestial sphere are placed in the early night sky. It will be around 2 a.m. local time, but going ahead before midnight will give you a good chance to see plenty. Also, those moments are the best time to watch bright, slow-moving “earth grazers” along the horizon.
Sky & Telescope Magazine predicts that the peak activity time for 2020 Geminids should arrive at 5pm PT (8pm ET), making it ideal for many Americans to catch them before bedtime.
“It’s okay to suffer the cold during the peak of this fountain,” says Diana Henikinen, observation editor of the SkyTend Telescope. “Geminids give the best performance of ‘Shooting Stars’ all year round.”
Bottom line: There is no real time to see Geminids. Also, you don’t is needed Looking at Gemini to see Gemini. Meteors can appear anywhere in the night sky, but they will continue to rotate normally Away From Gemini.
Photos of 2020 incredible meteor showers remain bright in a dark year
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Luckily the moon will do its part to provide those conditions by making itself rare those nights. It will only be the lowest sliver of the moon if it appears with a new moon on December 14th. The rest is local weather and your ability to find a wide, clear view of the night sky away from the light. Pollution.
If you can manage that, you just need to dress appropriately, put back, let your eyes adjust, relax and look. Geminids can range from fuzzy, ephemeral “shooting stars” to bright, intensely colored streaks and perhaps fireballs here and there. You will have more difficulty seeing meteors in the Northern Hemisphere, but Geminids also appear south of the equator, after night and in small numbers.
If the weather doesn’t co-operate, the Virtual Telescope project in Rome is planning to host a watch online watch party.
We do meteor showers when the Earth passes through clouds of debris, usually left behind by comets. In the case of Geminids, the debris comes from a so-called “rock comet” 3200 Fathon, Which is thought to be a potentially extinct comet orbiting the inner solar system.
I hope this year will be put together with the Gemini Glamor Gallery. If you’ve got astrophotography chops and manage to capture some great meteor shots, please share them with me on Twitter or Instagram. Ericsson.
