In the night between 13 and 14 Decemberlike every year, the meteor shower of Geminids – one of the most intense of the winter months – will reach its peak maximum peak intensity. So let’s keep our eyes on the sky to observe the shower of shooting stars in December, giving us one of the most fascinating spectacles of the winter period.
The Geminid swarm has been active since early December and will last a few more days, but the best time to observe the show will be on the night between 13 and 14 December, with a theoretical maximum of well 120 meteors per hourgreater than the more famous summer swarm of Presidethe “stars of San Lorenzo” that adorn the skies of August.
This year is particularly “unlucky” for observing this swarm since the Moon will be practically full.
What is the Geminid meteor shower
Those commonly known as “shooting stars” are technically called meteors. These are small rocky debris (typically the size of a few millimetres) produced by the disintegration of minor bodies of the Solar System such as comets or asteroids. The debris that remains along the Earth’s orbit around the Sun is regularly intercepted by the passage of our planet: they are then captured by gravity and, as they fall, they heat up due to friction with the atmosphere to the point of burn a few dozen kilometers above sea level. The light trails that we see are precisely the result of the burning of these small debris in the atmosphere.
In the case of the Geminids, the progenitor body of the swarm (i.e. the body which, when disintegrating, produced the debris that makes up the swarm) is theasteroid 3200 Phaethon (in Italian Phaeton), a body of approximately 5 kilometers which is probably one extinct cometthat is, a comet that no longer has volatile material available to produce a coma and a tail.
The name Geminids comes from the fact that the radiant of the swarm, that is, the point in the sky from which the “shooting stars” seem to start, is located in the constellation dei Twinsto be precise near the star Castorthe brightest of the constellation.
How to observe the Geminids show
If you want to brave the winter cold to enjoy the spectacle of the Geminids, know that it is perfectly observable to the naked eye. The peak of the meteors is expected around 2:00 in the morning in the area of sky around the constellation Gemini, but meteors can be observed at all hours and in every region of the sky. If you want to find the constellation more easily you can use one of the many sky map apps available for free. Unfortunately, the sky will not be particularly dark: this year the peak of the swarm falls while the Moon is practically full, thus causing a “luminous disturbance” which makes observation less than ideal. Meteors will still be visible, especially the brightest ones.
The Geminids will last another century
We close with a curiosity: in about a century the Geminids swarm will no longer exist. With each passage of the earth, numerous fragments are disintegrated giving us the spectacle of “shooting stars”. However, this means that meteor showers gradually consume themselves. As regards the Geminids, astronomers have in fact predicted that within 100 years the swarm will be exhausted: those who are there will not be able to witness the show!
