The Geminids are the best meteor shower of the year, will peak December 13-14: NASA
Geminid meteor shower: know it all
Shortly after midnight today, a dramatic celestial event will mesmerize sky watchers. The Geminids, widely recognized as the best annual meteor shower, will reach their dazzling peak. The Geminids are active from December 4 and will continue until the 17th. The spectacular meteor shower will captivate sky watchers in India until the early hours of December 14. The Geminids is the most intense meteor shower of the year, astrophysicist and MP Birla planetarium chief Debiprasad Duari said on Saturday. What are meteors, meteor showers and what is special about the Geminids, let’s take a look.
What are meteorites?
Meteorites are bright streaks of dazzling light seen in the night sky. Often called “shooting stars”, meteors are rocky objects that enter Earth’s atmosphere at tremendous speed. As the Earth, on its annual journey around the Sun, passes through a dusty region in space, tiny rocky objects enter the atmosphere with great speed, between 30 and 60 km per second, and produce a shower of rays of light called a meteor shower.
Why is this meteor shower called Geminids?
According to NASA, “All the meteors associated with a shower have similar orbits, and they all appear to come from the same place in the sky, which is called radiant. The Geminids appear to radiate from one point in the constellation Gemini, hence the name Geminids “.
How fast do Geminids travel?
The Geminids travel at 35 km per second, says NASA. This is approximately “250 times faster than the fastest car in the world and more than 40 times faster than a full-speed bullet.”
How can you see the Geminid meteor shower?
According to NASA, there will be a live broadcast of the peak of the meteor shower on December 13-14 from a meteor chamber at the space agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, (if the weather cooperates).
Stargazers mark their calendars: the best meteor shower of the year will peak on December 13-14. Learn how you can observe the Geminids from your home: https://t.co/OnaaBsvYK7pic.twitter.com/BTkBfsqtO3
– NASA (@NASA) December 13, 2020
Enjoy watching the heavenly fireworks tonight. The head of MP Birla Planetarium has said that this year, according to the predictions, it is possible to see 150 meteors per hour since the sky is dark and clear. One should not be alarmed to see this “celestial phenomenon, as these meteors will not harm anything on Earth,” he added.
