Geminid meteor shower reigns in the night sky

Geminid meteor shower: Last night's annual meteor shower was a crowd pleaser. The Gemind meteor shower comes from debris shed by a 3-mile-wide  asteroid called 3200 Phaethon.

|
AP Photo/ AL.com, Mark Almond)
A large meteor streaks across the sky during the annual Geminid meteor shower over Springville, Ala., Thursday night Dec. 13, 2012. (

The annual Geminid meteor shower peaked overnight last night (Dec. 13), dazzling skywatchers around the world with a bounty of brilliant shooting stars.

The Geminids' peak was supposed to be good this year, as it occurred in a sky left dark by the new moon. Experts had predicted that viewers in rural areas might see 100 meteors per hour early Friday morning (Dec. 14) — and perhaps even more.

Judging by the reactions of some SPACE.com readers, the Geminids did not disappoint.

"What an incredible show we had here!" Sean Parker, who watched the shower early Friday just west of Tucson, Ariz., told SPACE.com via email. "I was able to see about 50 per hour." [Photos: Geminid Meteors of 2012]

Parker constructed a gorgeous composite image of about 30 frames, which captured dozens of shooting stars streaking through the skies above a saguaro-studded desert mountain.

"This image took a lot of work, as I had to scroll through about 400 frames and find which frames had shooting stars in them, then cut out every meteor and blend," Parker said.

Skywatchers on the other side of the world were enthralled by the Geminids as well.

"Awesome experience," said Mumbai, India-based Swaroop Hangal, who also captured a photo of a fast-moving meteor.

"Today, I had planned to see 50 streaks and then quit with or without a pic," Hangal said. "Had almost lost hope when I could capture the 50th one, just between Betelgeuse at the bottom & Alhena in the Gemini constellation."

The Geminids— so named because they appear to emanate from the constellation Gemini (The Twins) — are one of the most dependably impressive annual meteor showers.

They result when Earth plows through debris shed by a 3-mile-wide (5 kilometers) asteroid called 3200 Phaethon. These tiny particles burn up in our planet's atmosphere, leaving bright streaks in the sky to commemorate their passing.

The Geminids' source is unusual for meteor showers, which are typically caused by streams of sloughed-off comet particles. Debris streams from the famous Halley's Comet, for example, produce the Orionids every October and the Eta Aquarids, which peak in early May.

If you missed the Geminid peak last night, don't fret; you still have a few days to catch the shower this year. The Geminids should linger until Sunday (Dec. 16) or so before fizzling out completely.

Editor's Note: If you take a photo of this year's Geminids that you'd like to share with SPACE.com for a possible story or gallery, please send it, along with your comments, to spacephotos@space.com.

Follow SPACE.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall or SPACE.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and Google+

Copyright 2012 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Geminid meteor shower reigns in the night sky
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2012/1214/Geminid-meteor-shower-reigns-in-the-night-sky
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe