Marveling at Geminid meteor showers through years
The Geminid meteor shower is one of the most prolific of the big, annual meteor showers, and also one of the strangest. When viewing conditions are ideal, it is possible to see between 100 and 140 meteors per hour. However, this year the Geminid peak coincided with a nearly-full moon. Because the light of the moon will drowned out some of the dimmer meteors, sky watchers saw between 40 to 60 meteors Friday night.
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- A meteor (bottom left) streaks past stars, which light up the night sky over the al-Azraq desert in Jordan in the early hours of December 14, 2004. The shower, named Geminid because it appears to originate from the constellation Gemini, lit up the sky with dozens of shooting stars per hour. (Ali Jarekji/Reuters)
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- A Geminid meteor streaks between peaks of the Seven Sisters rock formation early December 14, 2010 in the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. The meteor display, known as the Geminid meteor shower because it appears to radiate from the constellation Gemini, is thought to be the result of debris cast off from an asteroid-like object called 3200 Phaethon. The shower is visible every December. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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- A meteor streaking past stars, light up the night sky over the Mexican volcano Popocatepetl near the village San Nicolas de los Ranchos in Mexican state of Puebla in the early hours of December 14, 2004. The shower, named Geminid because it appears to originate from the constellation Gemini, lit up the sky with dozens of shooting stars per hour. (Daniel Aguilar/Reuters)
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- The sky at night seen at Killiecrankie Scotland during the Geminid meteor shower December 14, 2010. (Russell Cheyne/Reuters)
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- A general view of the Geminid meteor shower in the National Park of El Teide on the Spanish canary island of Tenerife on December 13, 2012. (Desiree Martin/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A general view of the Geminid meteor shower in the National Park of El Teide on the Spanish canary island of Tenerife on December 13, 2012. (Desiree Martin/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A meteor (right) from the Geminids meteor shower enters the Earth’s atmosphere, seen from the Prudencio Llach observatory in San Juan Talpa, 40 kms south of San Salvador on December 13, 2012. The US space agency NASA said on December 10 that the best meteor shower of the year, a display of shooting stars known as the Geminids, began on December 7 and was set to peak early on December 11, lasting for several days. The annual Geminids meteor shower was first glimpsed late in the 19th century, but at that time “the shower was weak and attracted little attention”. (Jose Cabezas/AFP/Getty Images)
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- This general view shows the Geminids meteor shower from the Prudencio Llach observatory in San Juan Talpa, 40 kms south of San Salvador on December 13, 2012. The US space agency NASA said on December 10 that the best meteor shower of the year, a display of shooting stars known as the Geminids, began on December 7 and was set to peak early on December 11, lasting for several days. The annual Geminids meteor shower was first glimpsed late in the 19th century, but at that time “the shower was weak and attracted little attention”. (Jose Cabezas/AFP/Getty Images)
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- This general view shows the Geminids meteor shower from the Prudencio Llach observatory in San Juan Talpa, 40 kms south of San Salvador on December 13, 2012. The US space agency NASA said on December 10 that the best meteor shower of the year, a display of shooting stars known as the Geminids, began on December 7 and was set to peak early on December 11, lasting for several days. The annual Geminids meteor shower was first glimpsed late in the 19th century, but at that time “the shower was weak and attracted little attention”. (Jose Cabezas/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Israelis enjoy a hot water spring on the shore of the Dead Sea near the Israeli Kibbutz of Ein Gedi as they watch the sky looking for Geminid meteor streaks above Judean desert early December 14, 2012. The meteor display, known as the Geminid meteor shower because it appears to radiate from the constellation Gemini, is thought to be the result of debris cast off from an asteroid-like object called 3200 Phaethon. The shower is visible every December. (Menahem Kahan/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A Geminid meteor streaks are seen above the Judean desert near near the Israeli Kibbutz of Ein Gedi early December 14, 2012. The meteor display, known as the Geminid meteor shower because it appears to radiate from the constellation Gemini, is thought to be the result of debris cast off from an asteroid-like object called 3200 Phaethon. The shower is visible every December. (Menahem Kahan/AFP/Getty Images)
By Deborah Netburn, Los Angeles Times
The Geminid shower occurs each year as the Earth passes through a stream of debris that appears to be left in the wake of a rocky, asteroid-like body called Phaeton 3200. This makes the Geminid meteor shower unusual. Most meteor showers are caused by debris left in the wake of comets.
Scientists do not fully understand how Phaeton 3200 caused all that debris in its orbit. It doesn’t have a tail, and it doesn’t seem to be shedding much dust and rock as it moves through space.
“The Geminids are my favorite because they defy explanation,” said Bill Cooke, who heads up NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office, in a statement. “Of all the debris streams Earth passes through every year, the Geminids are by far the most massive. When we add up the amount of dust in the Geminid stream, it outweighs other streams by factors of 5 to 500.”
The bits of dust and rock hit Earth at about 22 miles per hour and burn up in our planet’s atmosphere, causing the streaks you see in the night sky.
We may not understand it, but we can still enjoy it.
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