After the Perseids during the summer, it’s the Geminids’ turn to light up the cold season. As reported Maxisciences this shower of shooting stars can be observed during the night of Tuesday December 13 to Wednesday December 14, 2022. Budding astronomers are invited to raise their eyes to the sky for the chance to see between 120 and 150 meteors per hour.
The Geminids have a small peculiarity: this shower of dust particles comes from a group of asteroids called 3200 Phaethon. This differentiates it from the Perseids, for example, which come from comets.
How to enjoy the show?
The origin of the Geminids is still mysterious and even questions NASA. “One theory is that Phaethon separated from another object, ejecting meteoroids as part of the breakup,” explains the American space agency quoted by our colleagues. And to add: “Another theory is that a collision with another object thousands of years ago could have produced debris that Earth passes through today. »
As reminded actu.fr it is advisable to look east to increase your chances of admiring shooting stars. “4% of them will leave a trail”, specifies the vice-president of the astronomical society of France and president of the commission of planetology. “They can be very bright or persistent. Some will remain visible for more than a second,” he specifies. It is also recommended to let your eyes get used to the darkness and not to look too much at the Moon, which will be particularly big that night.