This year’s most prolific meteor shower is about to deliver more shooting stars than any other meteor shower, with near-perfect conditions for skywatchers.
The annual Geminid meteor shower begins Thursday (December 4) and will remain active for the next two weeks. But this year’s peak will be the night of attention. As many as 150 meteors per hour can be seen in the night sky during the Geminid meteor shower’s peak from Saturday, December 13 to Sunday, December 14, with the best views likely from the northern hemisphere.
This year’s show will be even more special as the peak nights will take place under dark skies with almost no moon. In the Northern Hemisphere, the waning moon, with a brightness of 28%, will rise in the eastern sky at approximately 2:30 a.m. local time. At about the same time, the radiant of the Geminid meteor shower (near the bright stars Castor and Pollux in the constellation Gemini) will rise highest in the sky.
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For the best views, stay as far away from artificial light as possible and wait about 20 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the darkness. Avoid looking at your phone screen or use red light mode to maintain night vision. You don’t need to look directly at the radiant to see a meteor. It can appear anywhere above your head. Meteor showers are best viewed with the naked eye. You don’t need sky-watching binoculars or a backyard telescope, but they will give you the best view of the year’s last supermoon.
The incidence of shooting stars from the Geminid meteor shower decreases rapidly after the peak night, but the meteor shower will remain active until December 17th. That same night marks the beginning of the less impressive Uruid meteor shower, which reaches its peak on the night of December 21st and 22nd, when about 10 meteors appear every hour.
Although not as powerful as the Geminid meteor shower, the Ursa Minor meteor shower occurs in the dark skies of a new moon. These consecutive meteor showers are the perfect way to end your year of stargazing.
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