The Geminid Meteor Shower is the last one of the year and is set to give Starg .zers a great show, experts say.
According to Prithvsky, the peaks are likely to occur in the evening hours between December 13 and 14, but there may also be “a proper burst of meteors on the previous night (December 11-12 and December 12-13).” Organization added.
“Geminids is a reliable fountain if you look at the best time of night, centered around 2 o’clock for all parts of the world, and if you look in the dark,” Arthiski wrote on his website. “Meteors are thought to be bold, white and fast. This fountain favors the northern hemisphere of the Earth, but it is also visible from the southern hemisphere. The bizarre rock comet known as 3200 Phaethon is the main part of this fountain.”
More than 100 meteors have been recorded in this joint image taken during the peak of the Gemini Meteor Festival in 2014. (NASA / MSFC / Daniel Moser, NASA’s Meteorological Office)
Firebuck Lack US Zeiss Boom, Annotating Update New York: ‘He likes a gold metallic flash’
At the top of the shower, according to NASA, about 120 minimums can be seen every hour. The space agency wrote on its website, “Geminids are bright and fast meteors and are yellow.”
“It’s best to look at Gemini around 2 a.m., when the meteors” seem to be radiating “because the brightest point of the fountain in the sky is the highest, Arthasky added. Still, they can be seen at 9pm or 10pm, which also gives young viewers a chance to see the show, NASA added.
Gemini meteors have been rocketing through the solar system for about 79,000 miles and have been known to produce volcanoes in the past.
How are meteors formed?
A meteorite forms when a meteorite, a kind of space rock whose planet is broken – a rocky body orbiting the sun – enters the Earth’s atmosphere. As soon as space debris is crossed, scientists call it a “meteor”, which then evaporates and – as a result of friction – breaks down into what appears to be a luminous length of light in the sky.
“Because of their appearance, this streak of light is what some people call meteor shooting stars.” “But scientists know that meteors are not stars – they are just fragments of rocks,” NASA explained in a blog post.
Geminide meteors
Most meteor showers originate from comets, but the Gemini Meteor Shower actually originates from the aforementioned asteroid 3200 Fethan.
The asteroid, which could be a “dead comet” or a “rock comet”, took 1.4 years to orbit the sun, according to NASA. Unlike other comets, it has no tail and its spectra resemble a rocky planet and the comet that explodes and forms a fountain is more destructive than dust, NASA explained.
It was first found on October 11, 1983, and was named after a Greek mythological character who drove the chariot of Helios.
Click here to get the Fox News app
Fox News’ James Rogers and Jennifer Earle contributed to the story.
