One of the best meteor showers of the year, the Geminids, occurs in December when Earth passes through particles and debris from the asteroid 3200 Phaethon.
According to NASA, the Geminid meteor shower is one of the few meteor showers associated with asteroids rather than comets. But 3200 Phaethon is a strange object that astronomers are still trying to define.
Astronomers say Phaethon behaves like a comet, brightening and forming a tail as it approaches the sun. Research published in April This shows that the asteroid’s tail is abnormal. Phaethon’s tail is not as dusty as a comet’s. It is made of sodium gas. This is unusual because most asteroids do not form tails as they approach the sun, NASA said.
One big question remains. If Phaethon doesn’t emit dust like a comet, how is the material for the Geminid meteor shower provided? Upcoming Japanese spacecraft missions include: Destiny+ It may help answer this question during an asteroid approach.
NASA said 3200 Phaethon could be a new type of object called a “dead comet” or “rocky comet.” For now, it is classified as an asteroid.
December stargazing guide: Geminid meteors, Christmas full moon, star and moon combinations
This year’s Geminid meteor shower will occur from December 4th to December 17th. At its peak on December 13th and 14th, 150 meteors per hour could light up the sky under ideal conditions.
The meteor shower’s name comes from the constellation Gemini because the meteors appear to radiate from the constellation, but they do not originate from the constellation Gemini.
How to see the Geminid meteor shower
Clear skies without fog or light pollution provide optimal viewing conditions for stargazers.
The best place to spot meteors is in dark skies away from city lights. When you go outside, give your eyes time to adjust to the darkness. This may take up to 40 minutes.
NASA’s Gordon Johnston Here’s why it’s important to have a wide view of the sky and give your eyes time to adjust.
“Color-sensing cones are concentrated near the center of the visual field, and many rods are located at the edges of the visual field,” he writes. “Some meteors are fainter, so we tend to see more of them out of the ‘corner of the eye’ (so we need to see a larger portion of the sky). Your color vision (cone cells) adapts to darkness. The effect lasts about 10 minutes, but the more sensitive night vision rod cells continue to improve for over an hour (most of the improvement is in the first 35-45 minutes).
In some meteor showers, the moon can even wash them away. During this year’s Geminid meteor shower, the presence of a waxing moon on December 13 will not prevent stargazers from seeing the meteors. Between December 13th and 14th, only 1-3% of the moon’s light shines in the sky.
According to NASA, the best time to start looking for the Geminid meteor shower on the East Coast is after 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 13.