William Atkins
Saturday, 13 December 2008 23:19
Science -
Space
Page 1 of 2
Between December 14 and 17, 2008, the Geminid meteor shower will be lighting up the night sky. However, the full Moon may make it more difficult to see the meteors.
The meteors of Geminid appear to come out of the constellation Gemini. They have been observed for only 150 years, making them a fairly new group of meteors for viewing from Earth.
The Geminids originate from its parent asteroid (or dormant or extinct comet) named
3200 Phaethon.
Astronomers Simon Green and John Davies discovered
3200 Pheathon (1983 TB) while scanning images from the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS), which were taken on October 11, 1983.
The green-to-blue and sometimes-yellowish-appearing meteors will appear in the east to southeast portion of the Northern Hemisphere sky, near the twin stars (Castor and Pollux) of the Gemini constellation.
They will race, generally, from the east/southeast direction to the west/northwest across the sky--but can really be seen going in any direction.
The Geminids will be difficult to see from the Southern Hemisphere, but some locations will be able to see them.
Castor will be the fainter of the two Gemini twin stars. The bright twin stars are considered the radiant point of the Geminid meteor shower.
The Moon will be interfering with this year's observation of the Geminids. Please read on.
