CrackitToday App

Geminids Meteor Shower

Geminids Meteor Shower:

In 2022, the Geminids will peak around December 13-14.

  • Geminids comes from the constellation Gemini, from whose location in the sky the meteor shower appears to originate.
  • The constellation for which a meteor shower is named only serves to aid viewers in determining which shower they are viewing on a given night.
  • Meteors are usually fragments of comets.
  • As they enter the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed, they burn up, creating a spectacular “shower”.
  • The constellation is not the source of the meteors.
  • If their peak coincides with the new moon, and if the weather is clear, the Geminids can produce approximately 100-150 meteors per hour for viewing.
  • This year however, the moon is bright, and so only 30-40 meteors per hour will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere.
  • The Geminids are unique because unlike most meteor showers, they originate not from a comet, but from an asteroid, the 3200 Phaethon.
  • The 3200 Phaethon was discovered on October 11, 1983.
  • It is named after the Greek mythology character Phaethon, son of the Sun God Helios.
  • It takes 1.4 years to complete one round of the Sun.
  • As the 3200 Phaethon moves close to the Sun while orbiting it, the rocks on its surface heat up and break off.
  • When the Earth passes through the trail of this debris, the Geminids are caused.
Score 120+ in Prelims