{"id":37211,"date":"2023-12-13T16:53:25","date_gmt":"2023-12-13T15:53:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/28d849e1-09eb-4cbe-856d-122d8ca9528e"},"modified":"2023-12-13T17:46:18","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T16:46:18","slug":"geminid-meteor-shower-2023-tonight-how-to-see-the-stunning-peak","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/geminid-meteor-shower-2023-tonight-how-to-see-the-stunning-peak\/","title":{"rendered":"Geminid meteor shower 2023 tonight: How to see the stunning peak"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s the best shower of the year, and conditions are looking great for this year\u2019s Geminid meteors. <\/p>

By Holly Spanner\n <\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 13 December 2023 at 15:53 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Unlike last year when a nearly-full Moon<\/a> scuppered proceedings, tonight’s Geminid meteor shower in 2023 is set to be spectacular. The Geminids peak on a new Moon, so conditions are good, and we may even start to reap the benefits of these crisp, cold nights; clear skies.<\/p>

Make the most of it this year \u2013 because next year, in 2024, the Geminids peak on a full Moon \u2013 so it won\u2019t be nearly as good. The Geminids are an excellent shower to get young astronomers involved in as the shower starts relatively early \u2013 around 9pm to 10pm \u2013 and<\/em> they\u2019re multicoloured!<\/p>

So how do you spot a Geminid? How can you tell it apart from a sporadic or Andromedid<\/a>? What causes the different colour meteors? Where in the sky do you look?<\/p>

If want to plan ahead for upcoming meteor showers in the UK, be sure to read up on all the details with our comprehensive meteor shower guide<\/a>, or if you\u2019re looking for more stargazing tips, check out our\u00a0astronomy for beginners<\/a>\u00a0guide.<\/p>

When is the Geminid meteor shower 2023?<\/strong><\/h2>

The Geminid meteor shower will peak tonight, Wednesday 13 December. The shower will remain visible until 20 December 2023, when it overlaps with the Ursid meteor shower. <\/p>

The Geminids are a decent length, and one of the best and most reliable showers of the whole year. It\u2019s also one of the most active, and has a peak that spreads over several nights between 12 \u2013 15 December \u2013 helpful when trying to contend with ever-changing weather.<\/p>

When is the best time to see the Geminid meteor shower?<\/strong><\/h2>

Unlike other meteor showers, when there\u2019s a short window for the definitive \u2018best time\u2019 to watch \u2013 the Geminids have a broad maximum. This means we\u2019ve got more chances to spot some shooting stars:<\/p>

\u201cThe Geminid meteor shower is arguably the best of the year. Its activity peak in mid-December is high, and also broad in terms of how long it lasts,\u201d says veteran astronomer Pete Lawrence.<\/p>

\u201cDuring 2023, the Moon is new on 12 December, meaning it won\u2019t interfere at all. Peak nights are 12\/13, 13\/14 and 14\/15 December and given clear skies, there\u2019s the potential for up to 12 hours of darkness each night,\u201d explains Lawrence.<\/p>

According to NASA, the Geminid meteor shower will begin around 9pm to 10pm<\/a> on the nights that it\u2019s visible, with the Royal Observatory Greenwich noting that it\u2019s the one major shower that shows good activity before midnight<\/a>.<\/p>

How many Geminid meteors will you be able to see?<\/strong><\/h2>

Under perfect conditions, the zenithal hourly rate, or ZHR of the Geminds will be 150. This means we could see a maximum of 120 to 150 meteors per hour at the peak. However, even with this year\u2019s excellent conditions, the reality is likely to be less. Nevertheless, we can expect to see around 60 meteors per hour, or around one or two meteors a minute, from around 10pm-ish until dawn.\u00a0<\/p>

\u201cAt its peak, the Geminid\u2019s zenithal hourly rate \u2013 the number of meteors you\u2019d expect to see under perfect conditions \u2013 would be around 120 meteors per hour. In practice, the actual number will be lower than this, but still high enough to be impressive,\u201d Lawrence says.<\/p>

In relation to other meteor showers, the Geminids have a relatively moderate speed of 126,000km per hour (78,000 miles per hour), or 35 km per second (22 miles per second).<\/p>

(The fastest meteors come from the Leonids in November, which are around twice as fast as the Geminids.)<\/p>

When the Geminids were first observed in the mid-1800s, the showers were not nearly as impressive as they are today, yielding only around 10\u201320 meteors per hour<\/a>. Since then, the shower has grown to around 120 meteors per hour, and is thought to still be intensifying every year.<\/p>

Multicoloured meteors<\/strong><\/h2>

The Geminids are bright, and can appear white, yellow, or green in colour, and occasionally even red, orange, or blue. This is down to the presence of metals that make up the debris, in much the same way we engineer fireworks to appear colourful when they explode.<\/p>

The air a meteor is passing through also plays a role in the colour we see, but in general it\u2019s the different chemical elements that produce different colours of meteors. As the meteor enters Earth\u2019s atmosphere, these different chemicals ionise and emit light.<\/p>

Most Geminid meteors will appear to be yellow or white in colour, which is indicative of a high iron\/magnesium ratio<\/a>, but we may also be able to spot some purple meteors from calcium-rich debris, or beautiful blue-green colours from magnesium.<\/p>

Geminid meteor colours and what they mean<\/h3>

Yellow:<\/strong> Iron, magnesium<\/p>

Green\/blue:<\/strong> Nickel, magnesium<\/p>

Purple:<\/strong> Calcium-rich<\/p>

Blue:<\/strong> Magnesium-rich with ionised calcium<\/p>

Red and orange:<\/strong> Sodium, potassium, nitrogen, oxygen<\/p><\/div><\/div>

Where to look in the sky to see the Geminids<\/strong><\/h2>

Meteor showers are generally named after the constellation in which their radiant is located.<\/p>

The radiant for a meteor shower refers to the point in the sky from which the meteors appear to originate.<\/p>

For the Geminids, they appear to originate from the constellation Gemini, however this not the actual \u2018source\u2019, it\u2019s just how we perceive it from Earth:<\/p>

\u201cA perspective effect makes Geminid meteors emanate from a location close to the star Castor in the constellation of Gemini during peak activity,\u201d says Lawrence.<\/p>

To find Gemini, look for Orion the Hunter (check out our\u00a0beginner\u2019s guide to astronomy<\/a>\u00a0if you need a refresher), which is easily distinguishable by the three bright stars (Mintaka, Alnilam and Alnitak) that make up Orion\u2019s Belt.<\/p>

From Orion, look up and to the left \u2013 and you\u2019ll see the two bright stars Castor and Pollux, high in the sky. These two stars represent each of the twins in Gemini. The Geminid radiant is just above Castor, which is the slightly fainter star of the two (Pollox is brighter and more yellow in colour).<\/p>

Pro tip: Take in as much of the sky as possible<\/h2>

But to get the best chance at seeing the most meteors, try to take in as much of the sky as possible. Even though the meteors will appear to originate from Gemini, they will appear over the whole sky. Meteors further away from the radiant may appear to leave a longer trail, whereas meteors closer to the radiant can look shorter.<\/p>

This is because, at the radiant, the meteors are angled towards us; known as \u2018foreshortening\u2019.\u00a0 So, for a chance to see meteors with longer tails (the result of travelling further distances away from the source), it\u2019s best to look slightly away from the constellation.<\/p>

How to increase your chances of spotting Geminid meteors<\/strong><\/h2>

To make the most of this spectacular shower, if you can, find a dark location away from streetlights to minimise light pollution. Try to find somewhere you can take in as much of the sky in your field of vision as possible. Patience is key, as it may take some time for eyes to adjust to the darkness. A comfortable reclining position and warm clothing are advisable if you plan on spending any length of time in the cold night air.<\/p>

And you don\u2019t need any special equipment to observe the Geminids, as Lawrence explains:<\/p>

\u201cActivity occurs between 4-17 December. All you need to observe the shower is your eyes. Give them 20 minutes in darkness before starting a watch. Wrap up warm and use a sun-lounger or equivalent to lay back, looking up at an altitude of around 60 degrees (two-thirds up the sky), in any direction, south having some great stars and planets on view.\u201d<\/p>

If you have one to hand, a tally counter is a useful way to keep track of the number of meteors you see, especially when there\u2019s likely to be as many as with the Geminids.<\/p>

Why are the Geminids so good this year?<\/strong><\/h2>

The Geminid meteor shower in 2023 promises to be the best of the year, due to the high number of meteors expected and favourable conditions. A moonless night coincides with the peak, providing optimal viewing conditions.<\/p>

The only thing we\u2019ll need to contend with is the weather:<\/p>

\u201cSome years are good for meteor showers<\/a>, some not so good. The visibility and potential spectacle of such events is determined by sky quality, a function of the degree of light pollution, the Moon\u2019s presence, and local weather,\u201d says Lawrence.<\/p>

\u201cYou can do something about light pollution and potentially the weather, by planning ahead and moving location if yours isn\u2019t good. The Moon<\/a> is less easy to deal with, and when big and bright in the sky will drown out all by the brightest meteor trails,\u201d he adds.<\/p>

So it\u2019s very handy the Moon won\u2019t be bothering us this year.<\/p>

Where do the Geminids come from?<\/strong><\/h2>

The Geminid meteor shower occurs when the Earth passes through a stream of dust and debris left behind by a comet or asteroid as it orbits the Sun<\/a>.<\/p>

But, unlike other meteor showers which favour debris from comets, the Geminids are a bit different: \u00a0<\/p>

\u201cGeminid meteors have an odd source, being associated with asteroid 3200 Phaethon. Described as a \u2018rock-comet\u2019, this object has typically sand-grain sized particles strewn around its orbit which, when they encounter Earth\u2019s atmosphere, vaporise to produce a meteor trail,\u201d explains Lawrence.<\/p>

When the Geminid meteor shower reaches its peak between 12 \u2013 15 December, that\u2019s when we\u2019re passing through the densest part of the stream.<\/p>

3200 Phaethon is unique, not only because most meteor showers are caused by debris from comets, rather than asteroids, but there\u2019s another reason. Its orbit brings it closer to the Sun than any other asteroid.<\/p>

A mystery to be solved<\/strong><\/h2>

Technically, 3200 Phaethon is a near-Earth asteroid<\/a>, but as it exhibits properties from both asteroids and comets, many refer to it as a \u2018rock-comet\u2019 or sometimes even a \u2018dead comet\u2019. It takes just 1.4 years to orbit the Sun.<\/p>

A recent study published in The Planetary Science Journal<\/em><\/a> suggests that it has a tail made of sodium gas, rather than dust as previously thought. (For comparison, most asteroids do not form a tail as they approach the Sun because they are mainly comprised of rock.)<\/p>

So if Phaethon has a sodium tail, how does it create the Geminids? Is it possible that some time in the past, Phaethon ejected dust and other material that makes up the dust stream that causes the Geminids?<\/p>

DESTINY+, a mission currently planned for 2025<\/a> aims to find out.<\/p>

The spacecraft is currently being developed by the Japanese space agency\u00a0JAXA, and will perform a flyby of Phaethon, as well as collecting samples of the dust stream. The mission will also demonstrate technologies that will enable future low-cost and high-frequency deep space exploration.<\/p>

About our expert, Pete Lawrence<\/strong><\/h2>

Pete Lawrence is an experienced astronomer, astrophotographer, and presenter on BBC’s The Sky at Night<\/em>. Watch him on BBC Four or catch up on demand with BBC iPlayer.<\/p>

Read more:<\/strong><\/p>