Astronomers are waiting, on the night of December 13-14, a dazzling event that will shower the sky with the most intense meteor shower of 2022 in the Northern Hemisphere, which is called the meteor shower.
This year, the meteor shower that looks like “rains” will be active from Nov. 19 to Dec. 24, but peaks in the evening of Dec. 13, and the moon will be full for most of the night, which hinders observations of meteorites in the southern hemisphere.
The Geminids are usually the most powerful meteor showers of the year, as 120 meteors per hour, which are bright cosmic fireballs, can be seen appearing over the next few weeks.
Astronomers expect peak meteor shower activity that night. The meteoric emission region is near the constellation Gemini, which are bright, fast-moving meteors that tend to be yellow in color.
The meteor shower is made up of small particles, some the size of a fist or pebbles, from asteroid 3200 Phaethon, which astronomers believe may either be an extinct comet or a new type of body called a “rock comet,” according to the NASA.
Whatever it was, the pieces that have broken off Phaethon over the years form denser dust clouds than most comets leave behind, which explains why the Geminids consistently have one of the strongest annual meteor showers in mid-December of every year.
Hundreds or thousands of them burn up when they collide with the upper atmosphere, which generates bright light and colorful streaks of fire across the sky, with speeds of up to 35 kilometers per second. In general, meteorites come from the particle remnants of comets and the remnants of asteroids.
To have the best chance of catching as many Geminis as possible, the most important thing to do is find a vantage point away from light pollution, with a wide view of the sky, and free of clouds.
If the moon is rising, you can try to orient yourself so that it is as close to your back as possible. Once you have the perfect spot, lay back, relax, give your eyes time to adjust, and then watch the incredible experience for an hour.
At the height of the night, if you’re lucky with ideal conditions, you could see up to 150 meteors in an hour. Your best chance to find out is around 2 a.m., which is also the best time to see the bright Earth Grazer, a gorgeous fireball nickname that seems to blaze spectacularly just above the horizon.
