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Astronomers won’t be disappointed with the radiant Geminid meteor shower expected to light up the night sky in mid-December. To add to this celestial event, sky watchers will have another rare treat with a “double planet” sighting on December 21.
Hundreds of shooting stars will light up the horizon in a spectacular geminid meteor shower, which will be active for the next two weeks through December 17, according to NASA.com. Expect the meteor shower to peak around mid-Sunday December 13 through the early morning hours of December 14.
“This will be the best meteor shower of 2020, no doubt about it,” said Bill Cooke, head of NASA’s office of the Meteroid environment, Doris Elin Urrutia of Space.com.
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The Geminid meteor shower typically puts on a dazzling display and is made up of debris from the 3200 asteroid Phaethon, according to Space. com.
Although the Geminids are somewhat difficult to see due to their speed at 22 miles per second, the moonlight should be dim at 1% full, so you may be able to catch some of them, according to the American Meteor. Society.
“Meteor showers are an investment [of time]! Preparation is the key to seeing them, ”Cooke told Space.com. But it’s cheap – just use your eyes. “No telescope or binoculars are needed,” he said. It is the simplest form of astronomy there is. “
Cooke said if you want to look at the screen, give your eyes about 30-45 minutes to adjust to the dark (away from your cell phones).
“You know, it’s something about watching meteors: you let your eyes adjust to the dark, and what kills [meteor viewing for] most people these days is that they’re going to be looking at their phones, and that bright screen totally destroys your night vision, ”Cooke said.
A ‘Christmas star’ will also light up the night sky for the December solstice on December 21 in a rare ‘dual planet event’. According to Accuweather’s Brian Lada, Jupiter and Saturn will come close together in rare conjunctions, making it appear like a bright star. This dual planet event has not been seen since the Middle Ages in 1226.
“One would have to go back to dawn on March 4, 1226 to see a closer alignment between these objects visible in the night sky,” Rice University astronomer Patrick Hartigan told Forbes.
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