The Geminids, a yearly meteor shower recurring each Dec., reach their peak tonight. Other meteor showers typically do not reach the degree of brightness and intensity of the Geminids meteoroids. Of the many things that make the Geminids unusual, their origin from the path of a nearby asteroid enhances the visual impact of the meteor shower. Source of article – Geminids meteor shower said to be the best of the year by MoneyBlogNewz.
Looking for the Geminids meteor shower tonight
The Geminids meteor shower can be at its finest after midnight. You may see a ton of meteors every hour. Up to 120 meteors per hour can be seen during the shower. The constellation Gemini called the "radiant" is the location where the shooting stars will appear in the sky which is why the shower is called the Geminids. Meteors within the Geminids shower could be observed earlier than most other meteor showers because the Geminids radiant is above the horizon throughout the night. Start by looking low in the northeast. This is within the early evening time. At 1 a.m. EST the radiant could have moved. It could be right overhead then. Look in the low west around 6 a.m. EST. This is when the peak is reached by the Geminids.
The Geminids really make a difference that could be observed
The Perseids in August and the Leonids in Nov are more like regular meteor showers that take place when the Earth is in its orbit around the sun. All the dust particles a comet leaves behind are exactly what the Earth is going through. The Geminids, however, are specks of debris left behind by the asteroid Phaethon. About 21 miles per second is how fast Phaethon's particles hits the atmosphere at which is a very low velocity compared to other meteor showers. The Geminid meteors are easier to see because of this since bright trails are left within the air a little longer than normal while the particles vaporize. The early morning of December 15 will continue to see the Geminids peaking. That means that even if clouds ruin the view Tuesday, watchers might be able to get another change Wednesday before dawn.
Exactly what the source of the Geminids is
The asteroid Phaethon is appropriately named after the son of Helios, the sun god in Greek mythology. Phaethon loses control after going for a joyride in his father's sun chariot. He then makes a threat to burn up the Earth in time. A lightning run is thrown at Phaethon getting him killed. The world is then saved thanks to Zeus. Phaethon’s orbit takes it from the asteroid belt all the way inside Mercury’s orbit and back again in 524 days. Typically a comet has a tail. Experts are confused as Phaethon has not tail yet is still has a stream of particles behind it.
Citations
MSNBC
msnbc.msn.com/id/40530733/ns/technology_and_science-space/
The Guardian
guardian.co.uk/science/2010/dec/13/starwatch-geminids-meteors
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pha%C3%ABton
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