The most powerful meteor shower of the year will bring more shooting stars than any other in near-ideal conditions for skywatchers.
The annual Geminids meteor shower begins on Thursday (December 4) and remains active for the next two weeks. But this year's highlight will be a night worth watching. For Gemini Peak, Saturday, December 13th to Sunday, December 14th.Up to 150 meteors per hour can be seen in the night sky, and the best views will be from the Northern Hemisphere.
This year's show will be special because the peak night will take place under dark, mostly moonless skies. The waning moon, 28% illuminated, will rise in the east at approximately 2:30 a.m. local time in the Northern Hemisphere. Around this time, the Radiant Point of Gemini – near the bright stars Castor and Pollux, in the constellation Gemini – rises highest in the sky.
For the best views, move as far away from artificial lighting as possible and give your eyes about 20 minutes to adjust to the darkness. Avoid looking at phone screens or using red light mode to preserve your night vision. You don't have to look directly at the emission point to see meteors; they can appear anywhere overhead. Meteor showers are best observed with the naked eye; No sky observation binoculars or telescopes in the backyard are necessary, although they will help you get a better view of last supermoon this year.
Although the number of shooting stars from the Geminids will quickly decline after the peak night, the meteor shower will remain active until December 17th. The same night marks the start of the less spectacular Ursid meteor shower, which will produce about 10 meteors per hour on the peak night of December 21-22.
Although they are not as powerful as the Geminids, the Ursids will appear in the completely dark skies of the new moon. These back-to-back meteor showers are a great way to end a year of stargazing.
