Watch the Geminids meteor shower reach its peak tonight
On any given night, far from bright city lights, there’s a chance you’ll see a beautiful streak shoot across the sky as a meteor flies overhead. But on special dates throughout the year, skywatchers can catch a large number of flares as meteor showers erupt in the darkness.
The next event is the Geminids, which lasts until December 17, but culminates on Wednesday, December 13 in the morning of Thursday, December 14.
Meteor showers occur when our planet encounters the debris fields left behind by icy comets or rocky asteroids orbiting the sun. These small particles burn up in the atmosphere, leading to burning light trails. The regularity of orbital mechanics means that each meteor shower occurs at approximately the same time every year, with the changing phases of the bright moon being the main variable affecting their visibility.
The Geminids, often one of the best and most reliable showers on the calendar, will occur during a new moon this year, offering ideal conditions as long as the weather cooperates.
Viewers in northern latitudes should be able to see the shower in the evening after sunset, while for those in the Southern Hemisphere the action starts after midnight. The speed can reach up to 150 meteors per hour.
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How to see a shower
The best practice is to go to the countryside and get as far away from artificial light sources as possible. People in rural areas may have the luxury of just getting outside. But city dwellers also have options.
Many cities have an astronomical society that maintains a special dark sky area. “I would suggest contacting them and finding out where they are,” Robert Lunsford, the secretary general of the International Meteor Organization, said in a 2022 interview with The New York Times.
Meteor showers are usually best seen when the sky is darkest, after midnight but before sunrise. To see as many meteors as possible, wait 30 to 45 minutes after you arrive at your viewing location. This allows your eyes to adapt to the dark. Then lie back and take in much of the night sky. Clear nights, higher altitudes and times when the moon is thin or absent are best. Mr. Lunsford suggested a good rule of thumb: “The more stars you can see, the more meteors you can see.”
Binoculars or telescopes are not necessary for meteor showers and will actually limit your view.
How meteor showers form
Each shower peaks on a certain date when Earth plows into the densest part of the debris field, although in some cases many meteors can still be seen before or after that particular night.
A shower is named after a constellation in the part of the sky where it appears to come from. But it is not necessary to be perfectly aware of every detail of the celestial sphere. Meteors should be visible everywhere in the sky during a given rain shower.