: Astounding ‘Geminid’ Meteor Shower to light sky tonight #IndiaNEWS #Feature Articles By Dr. S. A. Mohan Krishna, Amateur Astronomer December, January and February of any year shall be best

Astounding ‘Geminid’ Meteor Shower to light sky tonight #IndiaNEWS #Feature Articles
By Dr. S. A. Mohan Krishna, Amateur Astronomer

December, January and February of any year shall be best remembered as these months are meant for sky watching. Among all sky events, the best remembered is a ‘meteor’ or a ‘shooting star’.

A ‘shooting star’ or ‘meteor’ is caused by a tiny particle of dust entering Earth’s atmosphere. As it plunges downward, it experiences collision with air molecules and the friction generated causes the particle to glow and eventually burn up completely. Most meteors burn up at altitudes of around 100 kms. It is an exceptional celestial manifestation for sky observers that the extravagant yearly ‘Geminid’ showers will illuminate the night sky on Dec. 13 and Dec. 14. The Geminids are beautiful, prolific and reliable shower. Geminids 2020 was one of the best meteor showers which are still memorable.

Dry, clear air will help a lot with the lunar glare but it will be difficult to achieve maximum rates of 60 to 120. During those hours, we may be able to put it behind and out of your field of view. Geminids are medium-speed meteors. The shower has a skew rate profile, with activity dropping speedily after maximum. At the same time, the proportion of bright meteors is higher during and after maximum than on pre-maximum nights. The Geminids are worth watching for one or two mornings before the peak; there will be slightly less moonlight interference and some locations will get a short moonless period before morning twilight.

Geminids should produce a fine display of 1-2 meteor every minute for North American observers with dark skies, weather permitting. Brief bursts of activity could produce even higher rates. The nights and mornings surrounding the peak activity should prove rewarding, too. In other parts of the world, such as Europe, Asia and Australia, the Geminid peak will come during local daylight hours. Still, observers in these parts of the world should still see a very good meteor display on the night of Dec. 13-14, with rates of about one meteor per minute likely. This time in India Geminids are clearly visible in the night sky during 10 pm-6 am.

Geminid display is for those willing to brave the chill of a Dec. night, a fine winter shower and usually the most satisfying of all the annual showers, even surpassing the more widely recognised Perseids of August.

Studies illustrate that the Geminids are rich in slow, bright, graceful meteors and bright fireballs, as well as faint meteors, with relatively fewer objects of medium brightness. Geminid meteors are several times denser than the cometary dust flakes that supply most meteor showers, so they burn up less quickly.