Week of December 10-16, 2017
Ask beginning stargazers which is the most spectacular meteor shower of the year and I'm sure most will cite the Perseid shower of mid August. Is it really the best, or is their answer the result of some other factors or conditioning? My suspicion is the latter, and here's why.
During the Perseids, sky watchers can typically expect to see 50 or 60 meteors (aka shooting stars or falling stars) per hour — not a bad number in anyone's book. But during a typical Geminid shower, hourly numbers can reach as high as 100 or 120.
Most impressive, however, is that the Geminids often produce brilliant fireballs that can light up the heavens, cast a shadow and sometimes even leave a smoky trail behind. And you can often use binoculars to watch the remains of these trails for several minutes as they twist and turn in upper atmospheric air currents.
Why is it, then, that people don't cite the Geminids as their favorite? My guess is because it occurs during the wintertime when people are generally unwilling to brave the cold to watch lights falling from the sky. Too bad, because I've always felt that the Geminid shower is easily the best of the year.
These meteors seem to radiate from a point in the constellation Gemini, the twins, which appears low in the east-northeastern sky during early evening hours in mid December. This means that sky watchers who can't stay up all night can at least catch some meteor activity before retiring.
Around midnight, however, Gemini lies nearly straight overhead and showers the sky with meteors falling in all directions. If you to trace their paths backward, those associated with the shower will seem to radiate from a point (called the "radiant") just west of the bright star Castor.
The good news is that during this year's shower, there will be no bright moonlight to diminish our view of falling meteors. The bad news is that the shower peaks midweek, making it tough for working folks to spend much time outdoors on the night of its maximum. Don't worry, though. Meteors will be visible the weekend before and after.
Officially, the shower peak occurs around 2:00 a.m. EST on Dec. 14 (11:00 p.m. PST on Dec. 13), when the Earth plows head on into the swarm of meteoric particles left behind by the peculiar asteroid 3200 Phaethon. This odd ball of rock has recently been found leaving a short gravely tail behind it and giving rise to this unique shower.
Watching the sky show is not difficult at all, and you need no fancy optical equipment to enjoy it. My recommendations are simple. First, be sure to dress warmly and have on hand a thermos of, say, hot chocolate to make the night even more enjoyable. Next, head out to a dark location far from the blinding lights of cities. And, finally, lie back on a sleeping bag or lawn chair and scan the entire sky with your eyes.
If you do these things, I'll bet you'll soon agree that the Geminids are indeed the best shower of the year!
Visit Dennis Mammana at www.dennismammana.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
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