Australia: so, where are those pesky Geminids?

David Heath
Tuesday, 14 December 2010 21:45

Science - Space

We hear so much about the wonder of the Geminid meteors, but how do we see them in Australia?

Admittedly, the Geminids are really a northern hemisphere event, but as my colleague William Atkins writes, they are one of the best meteor events all year.

In the link just mentioned, William gives advice for where to look in USA and Europe, but that doesn't really help for Australians.

So, here's the good oil.

Any meteor shower is named for the constellation from where they appear to radiate - called the radiant.  This we know that the meteors will seem to spread out from the constellation of Gemini (The Twins).

Checking with Stellarium, a highly recommended star-watching package, we find that Gemini rises in south eastern Australia in the north east sometime after 11pm (daylight saving time), reaching its highest altitude of 25 degrees above the horizon at around 3:00am and setting in the north west at around the time the sun rises.

Tonight and tomorrow night, observers should see a good number of meteors rising up as the radiant progresses across the early morning sky.

Finally a warning, alcohol (at this late hour) will generally increase the number of observations, but will probably decrease their quality.

Stay sober folks and just enjoy the view!