The Geminid meteor shower is now active and will reach maximum activity on Thursday night/Friday morning December 13/14. Activity is currently low with only 1-2 meteors per hour appearing from this source. Activity will increase each night until maximum activity is reached on the 13/14. After maximum, rates will fall swiftly and Geminid meteors will soon disappear.

On the night of December 13/14, Geminid meteors will appear as soon as becomes dark. Activity will be low but the meteors you see will be long and long-lasting. They will shoot from the northeastern horizon in all directions. Most of them will hug the north or southeastern horizon. Occasionally you will see one shooting straight up and these will be a real treat.

As the night progresses the Geminid meteors will become shorter and will move in all directions, including downward toward the eastern horizon. Activity will also increase as the Geminid radiant (the area of the sky Geminid meteors appear to shoot from) climbs higher into the eastern sky. Near 10pm local standard time (LST), the Geminid radiant will lie approximately half-way up in the eastern sky. At this time viewers from the city can expect to see 10-20 Geminids per hour. If you live in the suburbs then hourly rates should be 20-30 Geminids per hour. If you live in rural areas then hourly rates should be 30-40 Geminids per hour. The reason for this difference is that most of the Geminid meteors are faint. Faint meteors, just like faint stars, are obscured by city lights. The darker your environment, the more meteors you will see.

Geminid activity will continue to increase until 2am LST, when the Geminid radiant will lie nearly overhead. At this time hourly rates should be near 20-30 for city viewers, 40-50 for suburban viewers, and 60-70 for rural viewers. Geminid meteors, like all shower meteors, will appear in “clumps”. One may see nothing for 5 minutes and then see 5 meteors within the next minute. This is why it is important that observers watch for as long as possible. If you watch for a short time you may be watching during a slump in activity and will be disappointed.

After 2am LST the Geminid radiant will drift lower in the western sky. Rates will slowly fall as the radiant altitude decreases.

Not all meteors seen this time of year are Geminids. There are other minor showers active which are both faster and slower than the Geminids. There are also random meteors not associated with any known shower. Roughly 80% of the meteors should be Geminids on December 13/14. This percentage will be less on nights away from maximum. Geminid meteors are of medium speed and their average duration is on the order of a half-second. Brighter Geminids will last longer and Geminid fireballs can last several seconds and exhibit brilliant colors such as orange and green.

I would advise potential viewers not the wait until December 13/14, just in case this night is cloudy. The night of December 11/12 is good and the 12/13th is almost as good as the night of maximum activity. Rates will fall by at least 50% each night after maximum so do not wait until the weekend or you will be out of luck.

Viewers all over the world can see this display of meteors. The only continent where the display is invisible is Antarctica. From there the radiant never rises above the horizon plus daylight lasts 24 hours this time of year. Viewers in the northern hemisphere have a distinct advantage as the nights are longer plus the Geminid radiant rises higher into the sky. Observers in Australia, southern Africa, and South America can best see Geminid activity near 0200 LST or 0300 local daylight saving time, when the radiant lies highest in their northern sky.

I will be happy to answer any questions you have concerning the Geminids right up to December 12, when I will be heading to the Mojave Desert to view the display. Before you ask please note that these meteors can be seen from anywhere north of Antarctica and that the best time to watch is 2am local standard time, no matter your location.

Clear Skies!

Robert Lunsford

American Meteor Society

Robert Lunsford Bob has been interested in the stars as far back as he can recall His first experience with meteors was a biggie, the 1966 Leonid shower. In 1980, a major awaking occurred. He received a sample copy of Meteor News. He was amazed to learn there was a group actually devoted strictly to meteor observing! He joined the group also started to view some of the minor showers list among the pages of Meteor News. Lastly, he was contracted by Springer Publishing in 2007 to write a book on observing meteors. The book is now available and hopefully will be a useful guide to all interested in the enjoyable field of meteor observing.