Tonight – December 13, 2015 – is likely the peak night of the 2015 Geminid meteor shower. Watch from late Sunday evening until dawn Monday. And if you are clouded out, don’t despair! The shower may be equally good Monday evening through Tuesday’s dawn as well. The meteors should start flying by mid-evening (midway between sunset and your local midnight), but the Geminid shower really won’t reach the crest of its activity until after midnight. To optimize your chances, drive out into the country, where you’ll have the darkest possible sky. If you do that, you might see dozens of meteors per hour! Follow the links below to learn more about the 2015 Geminid meteor shower.
When is the best time to watch the Geminids in 2015?
What’s the best way to watch a meteor shower?
How many meteors can I expect to see in 2015?
Where is the radiant point for the Geminid meteor shower?
What is the origin of the Geminid meteor shower?
Steve Photography posted this photo to EarthSky Facebook on December 10, 2015. He caught this Geminid meteor over Lough Talt, a large lake in Ireland, last week.
When is the best time to watch the Geminids in 2015? As a general rule, the Geminid meteor shower intensifies after midnight and produces the greatest number of meteors for a few hours, centered around 2 a.m. That’s true no matter where you are around the globe. Fortunately, the waxing crescent moon sets in the early evening, leaving a deliciously dark sky for meteor watching in 2015!
What’s the best way to watch a meteor shower? You need to get away from city lights and find a wide open view of the sky. City, state and national parks are good, and you might be able to camp and make a night of it. Enjoy the comfort of a reclining lawn chair – the warmth of a sleeping bag – a thermos with a hot drink – a snack – and possibly star maps with a red flashlight, if you want them (you won’t need them to enjoy the meteors).
Give your eyes at least 20 minutes time to adapt to the dark. Often, meteors come in spurts and are interspersed by lulls. So give yourself at least an hour to watch the Geminids.
You don’t need special equipment – only a dark, open sky. Simply look upward and enjoy the company of family and friends.
How many meteors can I expect to see in 2015? The Geminids are considered one of the best meteor showers for the year in the Northern Hemisphere. In a year with no moon, they reliably offer 50 or more meteors per hour at their peak. In 2015, the waxing crescent moon sets at early evening and won’t be a factor.
You might still see 50 meteors per hour. In an urban or suburban sky, you might not see only a few – or none at all.
You can also see this shower from the tropical and subtropical regions in the Southern Hemisphere. Farther south, the radiant of the Geminid meteor shower never gets very high in the sky, so the shower is not as rich at southern temperate latitudes.
Geminid meteors radiate from near star Castor in Gemini.
Where is the radiant point for the Geminid meteor shower? This meteor shower gets its name from the constellation Gemini the Twins. If you trace the paths of all the Geminid meteors backward, they appear to radiate from a certain spot in front of Gemini. This point is called the meteor shower radiant point. The Geminids radiant is located near the bright star Castor.
Just remember, you don’t have to find the meteor shower radiant to see the Geminid meteors. The meteors radiate from that point, but they then shoot all over the sky. The radiant for the shower is rather low in the east at early evening, meaning the meteors will be few and far between at that time. The radiant climbs upward as evening deepens into late night, and reaches its high point for the night around 2 a.m. local time. That why greatest number of meteors usually fall after midnight, for a few to several hours, centered on or near 2 a.m.
Orbital path of 3200 Phaethon, the parent object of the Geminid meteors, via skyandtelescope.com
What is the origin of the Geminid meteor shower? Most meteor showers take place when our planet Earth crosses the orbital path of a comet. The comet debris plunges into Earth’s upper atmosphere, and the vaporizing particles fill the night with meteors. But the Geminid meteor shower appears to be an oddity. The shower’s parent body appears to be a near-Earth asteroid, rather than a comet. Astronomers have named this object 3200 Phaethon.
Bottom line: The peak of the Geminid meteor shower in 2015 might be on the night of December 13-14 – or possibly December 14-15. With no moon to ruin the show, 2015 provides a great year for watching the Geminid meteor shower. Have fun!
December 2015 guide to the five visible planets
Radiant point for December’s Geminid meteor shower
from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1jqHgBs
Tonight – December 13, 2015 – is likely the peak night of the 2015 Geminid meteor shower. Watch from late Sunday evening until dawn Monday. And if you are clouded out, don’t despair! The shower may be equally good Monday evening through Tuesday’s dawn as well. The meteors should start flying by mid-evening (midway between sunset and your local midnight), but the Geminid shower really won’t reach the crest of its activity until after midnight. To optimize your chances, drive out into the country, where you’ll have the darkest possible sky. If you do that, you might see dozens of meteors per hour! Follow the links below to learn more about the 2015 Geminid meteor shower.
When is the best time to watch the Geminids in 2015?
What’s the best way to watch a meteor shower?
How many meteors can I expect to see in 2015?
Where is the radiant point for the Geminid meteor shower?
What is the origin of the Geminid meteor shower?
Steve Photography posted this photo to EarthSky Facebook on December 10, 2015. He caught this Geminid meteor over Lough Talt, a large lake in Ireland, last week.
When is the best time to watch the Geminids in 2015? As a general rule, the Geminid meteor shower intensifies after midnight and produces the greatest number of meteors for a few hours, centered around 2 a.m. That’s true no matter where you are around the globe. Fortunately, the waxing crescent moon sets in the early evening, leaving a deliciously dark sky for meteor watching in 2015!
What’s the best way to watch a meteor shower? You need to get away from city lights and find a wide open view of the sky. City, state and national parks are good, and you might be able to camp and make a night of it. Enjoy the comfort of a reclining lawn chair – the warmth of a sleeping bag – a thermos with a hot drink – a snack – and possibly star maps with a red flashlight, if you want them (you won’t need them to enjoy the meteors).
Give your eyes at least 20 minutes time to adapt to the dark. Often, meteors come in spurts and are interspersed by lulls. So give yourself at least an hour to watch the Geminids.
You don’t need special equipment – only a dark, open sky. Simply look upward and enjoy the company of family and friends.
How many meteors can I expect to see in 2015? The Geminids are considered one of the best meteor showers for the year in the Northern Hemisphere. In a year with no moon, they reliably offer 50 or more meteors per hour at their peak. In 2015, the waxing crescent moon sets at early evening and won’t be a factor.
You might still see 50 meteors per hour. In an urban or suburban sky, you might not see only a few – or none at all.
You can also see this shower from the tropical and subtropical regions in the Southern Hemisphere. Farther south, the radiant of the Geminid meteor shower never gets very high in the sky, so the shower is not as rich at southern temperate latitudes.
Geminid meteors radiate from near star Castor in Gemini.
Where is the radiant point for the Geminid meteor shower? This meteor shower gets its name from the constellation Gemini the Twins. If you trace the paths of all the Geminid meteors backward, they appear to radiate from a certain spot in front of Gemini. This point is called the meteor shower radiant point. The Geminids radiant is located near the bright star Castor.
Just remember, you don’t have to find the meteor shower radiant to see the Geminid meteors. The meteors radiate from that point, but they then shoot all over the sky. The radiant for the shower is rather low in the east at early evening, meaning the meteors will be few and far between at that time. The radiant climbs upward as evening deepens into late night, and reaches its high point for the night around 2 a.m. local time. That why greatest number of meteors usually fall after midnight, for a few to several hours, centered on or near 2 a.m.
Orbital path of 3200 Phaethon, the parent object of the Geminid meteors, via skyandtelescope.com
What is the origin of the Geminid meteor shower? Most meteor showers take place when our planet Earth crosses the orbital path of a comet. The comet debris plunges into Earth’s upper atmosphere, and the vaporizing particles fill the night with meteors. But the Geminid meteor shower appears to be an oddity. The shower’s parent body appears to be a near-Earth asteroid, rather than a comet. Astronomers have named this object 3200 Phaethon.
Bottom line: The peak of the Geminid meteor shower in 2015 might be on the night of December 13-14 – or possibly December 14-15. With no moon to ruin the show, 2015 provides a great year for watching the Geminid meteor shower. Have fun!
December 2015 guide to the five visible planets
Radiant point for December’s Geminid meteor shower
from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1jqHgBs
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire