Watch the Great Geminid Meteor Shower on Dec. 13-14
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Bundle up and head outside to watch the December Geminids, considered the best of the annual meteor displays. Learn more about this active meteor shower coming to a backyard sky near you!
If you enjoy seeing “shooting stars,” then get ready! A pre-Christmas celestial fireworks display known as the Geminid Meteor Shower peaks December 13-14. Many astronomers consider the annual December Geminids to be the best shower of the year, surpassing even the famous Perseids of August.
On a good year, depending on how dark your location is, it should be possible to see as many as 60 to 120 “shooting stars” per hour for the duration of the night.
One of the nice things about the Geminids is that—unlike most meteor showers—they’re active in the evening (not only after midnight). The radiant (the spot in the sky where the meteors will appear to emanate) lies just below and to the right of the bright star Castor in the constellation Gemini (hence the name “Geminids”).
These shooting stars are caused by fragments of 3200 Phaethon. The asteroid has a debris trail that orbits around the Sun, and every year at this time, Earth runs into this dusty debris trail causing the “fireworks.”
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