How to... Watch the Geminid shower
Don’t miss one of the greatest spectacles of the year – provided you have fair observing conditions, here’s how to ensure optimum viewing
With up to 120 meteors per hour, this isn't to be missed
Shooting stars are, without a doubt, some of the most spectacular events we can see in the night sky. Where on any given night we might see an occasional flash of light dart across the heavens, there are several wellknown 'showers' of meteors that occur on specific nights every year. The Geminids are one of these, and can often produce bright, fast-moving streaks of light of up to 100 or so meteors an hour on a favourable night. You'll need favourable conditions in order to witness the event - you'll need to make sure there are no sources of artificial light around that will wash out the fainter meteors, and you will need to observe on a Moonless night. This year, our lunar companion will be out of sight, so the chances of seeing meteors greatly increases.
Asteroid 3200 Phaethon is the source of the Geminids, which leaves a stream of dust as it orbits the
Sun. Every year in December, the Earth passes through this dust tail and some of the particles enter our atmosphere, burning up as they fall towards Earth. From our perspective, they appear to come from one point in the sky - this is known as the radiant, and its position varies from shower to shower. Unsurpisingly, the radiant for the Geminids appears to be in the constellation of Gemini, and is close to bright star Castor in that star pattern.
There is no best place to look for the meteors, although, in fact, looking towards the radiant is probably not the best place, as the 'shooting stars' don't start out very bright at this point. Just look up and around and you will almost certainly see some Geminids if you are patient, ensuring that your eyes are well adapted to the dark. Also, if you are staying outside for any length of time on a December night, be sure to wear warm clothes
Your best chance of catching the Geminids is after midnight and around 2.00am on the morning of the 14 December. You should also watch out for any meteors during the evening of the 13th and around these dates - you may be lucky and catch some strays around the peak!
"Your best chance of catching them is after midnight and around 2.00am"