The Geminids meteor shower reached its peak on Wednesday morning, between December 13 and 14. The meteor was visible in India. The Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium in Bengaluru also scheduled an event to view the shower for all Indian skywatchers. The bold, white, bright Geminids provide us with one of the Northern Hemisphere’s best showers. The Geminids meteors are plentiful, rivalling the August Perseids.
If you’re also excited about the Geminids meteor, then here's all that you need to know about the interesting and exciting phenomenon!
Geminids Meteor Shower: Causes
Meteors are fragments of comets. While these little fragments of comets enter the earth’s atmosphere at an extremely high speed, caused by gravity, they burn up. Thus, the glowing flame gives it a shower-like look.
As per NASA, “Meteors come from leftover comet particles and bits from asteroids. When these objects come around the Sun, they leave a dusty trail behind them. Every year Earth passes through these debris' trails, which allows the bits to collide with our atmosphere where they disintegrate to create fiery and colourful streaks in the sky.”
Why Is Geminids Unique?
Now, you must be thinking about what exactly makes the Geminids unique. Let’s explain. The Geminids are unique because they originate from an asteroid, the 3200 Phaethon, which was discovered on October 11, 1983. It takes 1.4 years to complete one round of the sun.
Moreover, NASA describes Geminids as “one of the best and most reliable annual meteor showers”. If the peak of Geminids coincides with the new moon and if the weather is clear, the Geminids are able to produce approximately 100-150 meteors per hour for viewing. However, this year, the moon is bright, so 30-40 meteors per hour will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere.
NASA further say, “But the Geminids are so bright that this should still be a good show”.
NASA also mentions that Geminids travel at 78,000 mph. These meteors are 1000 times faster than a Cheetah, 250 times faster than the fastest car in the world and not only this, 40 times faster than a speeding bullet.
How Many Meteors And When To Look?
The overall duration of the showers is November 19 to December 24. During an optimum night for the Geminids, it is possible to see 150 meteors per hour and the last quarter moon on December 16 means that in 2022 the peak of the shower competes with a waning gibbous moon. Also, this shower favours earth’s northern hemisphere, however, it is visible from the southern hemisphere too.
How To See The Meteor And When?
MSN mentioned in their news article that the meteor shower can be watched between 7:47 to 11:31 PM i.e. December 14 in Hyderabad. You must lie down on the ground to watch the sky. The Geminids meteor showers can also be seen in Bengaluru subject to the same conditions. Moreover, the event can also be seen at planetariums.
Origin Of The Term Geminids
The term ‘Geminids’ comes from the constellation ‘Gemini’ because it is the location where the meteor shower appears. As per NASA, “The constellation for which a meteor shower is named only serves to aid viewers in determining which shower they are viewing on a given night. The constellation is not the source of the meteors. Also, you should not look only to the constellation of Gemini to view the Geminids – they are visible throughout the night sky”.
How To Observe Geminids
To observe the Geminids, one must try to get away from bright lights, lie on your back, and look up. Stargazers need to allow their eyes to get adjusted to the dark which can take approximately half an hour to one hour.
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