The night sky will offer a unique light spectacle. Up to 1,000 greenish meteors will be seen per night, a greeting from the crumbling planet.
The annual Geminids meteor shower has very favorable viewing conditions this year. The maximum time comes on the night of December 14 to 15, i.e. when the Moon will not interfere with its light. The best time to view the swarm will be after midnight until 4 a.m. on Friday, December 15. Around 120 meteors per hour cross the sky at that time, and there can be up to 1,000 in total per night.
You won’t miss the Geminids this year Source: Petr Horálek / Physics Institute in Opava
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Geminid maximum in 2018 above the Sečská dam Source: Petr Horálek / Institute of Physics in Opava
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The Geminids in 2023 peak on the night of December 14 to 15 Source: Petr Horálek / Institute of Physics in Opava
The stars will fall, you can make a wish Source: Getty Images
A bright meteor from the Geminid shower over China’s Xinjiang province Source: Getty Images
Radiant Geminid is located in the constellation Gemini Source: NASA
You won’t miss the Geminids this year Source: Petr Horálek / Physics Institute in Opava
Geminid maximum in 2018 above the Sečská dam Source: Petr Horálek / Institute of Physics in Opava
The Geminids in 2023 peak on the night of December 14 to 15 Source: Petr Horálek / Institute of Physics in Opava
The stars will fall, you can make a wish Source: Getty Images
A bright meteor from the Geminid shower over China’s Xinjiang province Source: Getty Images
Radiant Geminid is located in the constellation Gemini Source: NASA
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To observe the swarm, for a good view, choose a place with as little disturbance as possible from trees or houses, but especially as far as possible from light pollution from cities, so you can see even weaker meteors. “It’s best to watch the phenomenon lying down – so we recommend a lounger or mat. However, the freezing December nights should not be underestimated, so equip yourself with the warmest clothes, a sleeping bag or several blankets,” advises photographer and astronomer Petr Horálek.
During the December nights, it is also necessary to take into account the possible occurrence of inversions, so it is best to go to the mountains. Meteors fall randomly all over the sky, so just keep your eyes on any area and wait for the first meteor to flash. Unlike the more common white or yellow color, the light trail of these particles passing through the atmosphere is greenish. Compared to other swarms, the Geminids are relatively slow – they enter the atmosphere at a speed of 35 km/s. Apart from the meteors, you will also see the bright stars of the winter constellations, the prominent Pleiades and Hyades star clusters in the Taurus constellation and three bright planets – Jupiter and Saturn in the evening, then Venus in the early morning.
The swarm gradually weakens
The name of the Geminid swarm comes from the Latin name of the constellation Gemini, from which meteors seem to fly out throughout the swarm’s activity. In the case of the Geminids, this point—that is, the radiant—lies to the east of the two brightest stars in the constellation, Castor and Pollux. In the December sky, the constellation Gemini and both stars appear already at dusk and can therefore be observed all night.
The first reports about the Geminid shower come from 1862. At that time, however, the shower was very weak, the frequency did not exceed 30 meteors per hour. It was only in the 1940s and 1950s that the number of meteors per hour increased to double and rose to current values until 1990. According to some models, this unstable shower is at its peak and its frequency will decrease year by year. By the end of the 21st century, the swarm should then almost disappear.
A planet in a dangerous orbit
The ice dust particles that create this celestial spectacle when passing through the Earth’s atmosphere come from the body (3200) Phaethon. While the most common parent body of meteor showers is usually a comet, 3200 Phaethon is a crumbling asteroid. Astronomers Simon Green and John Davies discovered it on October 11, 1983 using the IRAS satellite. The planet has an unusual orbit that brings it within an inhospitably close distance of only about 0.14 AU from the Sun every year and a half or so.
Although the activity typical of comets has never been observed, the planet appears more like a comet. On the one hand, by its extended orbit, during which Phaethon comes closer to the Sun than any other planet, and on the other hand, by its merit in the Geminid swarm. According to the research of Björn Davidsson and his team from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), it follows that the leakage of particles from the planet’s surface is due to sodium, which is contained in it to a small extent. It is this element in combination with solar radiation that causes the planet to slowly “crumble”. Some astronomers also believe that it is a fragment of the large asteroid Pallas from the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
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Since the orbit of the asteroid is close to the Earth’s orbit and the asteroid orbits the Sun once in less than 524 days, the question of its close flyby of the Earth arises. The last one occurred on December 10, 2007, when the asteroid passed the Earth at a distance of about 18 million km, which is about one-eighth the distance of the Earth from the Sun. Further close flybys will then take place in 2050 and 2060. However, it will not be closest to Earth this century until December 14, 2093. At that time, it will be only 3 million km from Earth, which is eight times more than the distance to the Moon. Nevertheless, according to astronomers, we do not need to fear the collision.
Source: EarthSky, NASA, Astrophysical progress from Opava
2023-12-14 11:50:00
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