Everything You Need To Know: Geminid Meteor Shower 2020 | The basics of astronomy

The Geminid meteor shower – always a highlight of the meteor year – is expected to peak in 2020 on the night of December 13-14 (Sunday evening until dawn Monday). You might also see decent meteor splash on previous nights (December 11-12 and December 12-13). And you could catch a Geminid meteor anytime this week, as the shower climaxes. Geminids are a very reliable shower if you look at the best time of the night, centered around 2 a.m. for all parts of the globe, and if you look into a dark sky. Meteors tend to be bold, white, and swift. This downpour favors the northern hemisphere of the Earth, but it is also visible from the southern hemisphere. The curious rock comet called 3200 Phaethon is the parent body of this shower.

On a dark night, near the top, you can often catch 50 or more meteors per hour. On an optimal night for the Geminids, it is possible to see 150 meteors per hour… which could happen this year, given the moonless sky that accompanies this year’s Geminid meteor shower. The new moon falls on December 14, 2020. In the mornings before this date, you will see a waning crescent moon. And – on December 11, 12 and 13, 2020 – after a night of meteor observation, the thin crescent moon and the dazzling planet Venus will rise in your eastern sky at dawn or towards dawn.

What a way to top off a night of meteor watching!

EarthSky’s lunar calendar shows the phase of the moon for each day in 2021. Order yours before they’re gone! Makes a great gift.

Why are Geminids the best around 2 a.m. This is because this is when the radiating point of the shower – the point in our sky from which meteors seem to radiate – is highest in the sky. As a general rule, the higher the constellation Gemini the Twins rises in your sky, the more likely you are to see geminid meteors.

The radiating point of this Geminids almost coincides with the bright star Castor in Gemini. This is a fortuitous alignment, of course, as Castor is about 52 light-years away as these meteors burn in the upper atmosphere, about 100 km above the Earth’s surface.

Castor is visibly close to another bright star, the golden star Pollux of Gemini. It’s fun to spot them, but you don’t need to find the radiant point of a meteor shower to see these meteors.

Instead, meteors in annual downpours appear in all parts of the sky. It is even possible to turn your back on the constellation Gemini and see a geminid meteor flying.

6 tips for meteor watchers.

1. The most important thing, if you really want to observe meteors, is a dark, open sky.

2. Look at the night rush hour, around 2 am (or later) for all parts of the globe.

3. When you are observing meteors, it is good to bring a buddy. Then the two of you can look in different directions. When someone sees one, shout “meteor!” This technique will allow you to see more meteors than a single person will see.

4. Make sure you allow yourself at least an hour of observation. It takes about 20 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark.

5. Know that meteors often come in bursts, interspersed with lulls.

6. Special equipment? None needed. Maybe bring a sleeping bag to stay warm. A thermos with a hot drink and a snack are always welcome. Plan to stretch out in a hammock, lawn chair, a pile of hay, or a blanket on the ground. Lie down comfortably and look up. Meteors will appear in all parts of the sky.

Earthgrazers are possible in the evening. Okay, we said that you will probably see the most meteors at one o’clock of the night centered around 2 a.m. You won’t see so many gemid meteors in the early evening when the constellation Gemini is near the eastern horizon.

But the evening hours are the best time to try to catch an Earthgrazer meteor.

An Earthgrazer is a slow, long-lasting meteor that moves horizontally across the sky.

Earthgrazers are rarely seen but prove to be especially memorable, if you are lucky enough to catch one.

Geminid’s relative – 3200 Phaethon – is a “rock comet”. Every year in December, our planet Earth crosses the orbital path of an object called the 3200 Phaethon, a mysterious body sometimes referred to as a rock comet. Debris released by 3,200 Phaethon crashed into Earth’s upper atmosphere at around 130,000 km per hour, vaporizing as colorful geminid meteors.

In periods of 1.43 years, this small, 5-kilometer-wide asteroid-like object oscillates extremely close to the sun (less than a third of the distance from Mercury), at which point an intense thermal fracture does. lose even more. rubble in its orbital flow.

There was great excitement around 3200 Phaethon in 2017, as this object was extremely close around the nights of the peak geminid meteor shower. It swept within 6.4 million miles (10.3 million km, 26 lunar distances) on December 16, 2017. In 2019, 3200 Phaethon is much further away. Visit The Sky Live for the current distance of 3200 Phaethon to Earth and the Sun.

Read more: Mysterious rock comet 3200 Phaethon

Bottom line: The annual Geminid meteor shower peaks on the night of December 13-14, 2020 (Sunday evening through Monday morning). But the previous weekend nights should also offer a decent number of meteors. These colorful meteors tend to be bright, so on a dark night, you can easily spot 50 or more meteors per hour.