Friday December 13, 2024

Geminids Meteor Shower Peak (overnight)

The Geminids, one of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year, is
active from November 19 to December 24 annually while Earth passes through the cloud of sand-sized grains dropped by the asteroid designated 3200 Phaethon. The number of Geminids meteors will gradually ramp up to a peak in the wee hours of Saturday morning, December 15, and then decline rapidly on the following nights. Geminids meteors are often bright, intensely colored, and slower-moving than average. In the Americas, expect to see a good number of Geminids meteors beginning after dark on Friday evening and upwards of 120 meteors per hour around 2 a.m. local time on Saturday - the time when the sky overhead will be pointing toward the densest part of the debris field. True Geminids will appear to streak away from a position near Gemini's bright stars Castor and Pollux, but the meteors can appear anywhere in the sky, so just
keep looking up and around. Unfortunately, this year's shower will be hampered by bright moonlight. Stand where the moon is blocked from view or head outside around 4 a.m. local time, when the moon will be sinking out of sight. Moon Crosses the Pleiades (at dusk)

On Friday evening, December 13, the orbital motion of the bright, nearly full moon will carry it through the Pleiades star cluster (aka Messier 45, Subaru, and the Seven Sisters) for some parts of the world. While bright moonlight overwhelms fainter objects, viewing the encounter during evening twilight, especially through binoculars, will make a pretty, and fascinating, sight. Skywatchers in Europe and Africa will see the moon among the Pleiades' scattered stars. Observers in Asia and the Americas will have to settle for seeing the moon shining to their upper right (or celestial west) and lower left (or celestial east), respectively.

(Data courtesy of Starry Night)
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