2017 Geminids Meteor Shower Home Sun & Moon Meteor Showers Geminids When and Where to See the Geminids in 2017 In 2017, the Geminid meteor shower is expected to peak on the night of December 13 and early morning hours of December 14. A Geminid meteor in 2012. The Geminids is 1 of 2 meteor showers in December. ©iStockphoto.com The peak of the Geminids, which is considered to be one of the most prolific meteor showers of the year, is after dark on December 14. A Waning Crescent Moon will make viewing conditions good for the shooting stars. Named After Gemini The Geminid meteor shower can be annually observed between December 4 and December 16, with its peak activity being around December 14. The shower owes its name to the constellation Gemini from where the meteors seem to emerge from in the sky. An Asteroid Meteor Shower Unlike most other meteor showers, the Geminids are associated not with a comet but with an asteroid: the 3200 Phaethon.

The asteroid takes about 1.4 years to orbit around the Sun. The Geminids are considered to be one of the more spectacular meteor shower during a year, with the possibility of sighting around 120 meteors per hour at its peak. Where to View the Geminids The Geminids can be observed from locations all around the world. While it is not necessary to look in a particular direction to enjoy a meteor shower, astronomers suggest looking towards the south to view the Geminids. When to View the Geminids The best time to view the Geminids is at night – after sunset and before sunrise. Location in the Sky The Geminids meteor shower is not visible at this time of year. The best date is around Dec 13, 2017; the table below is for that date: Geminids meteor shower for Seattle (Night between December 13 and December 14) Time Note: times are for Dec 13, 2017.

Set your location How to View the Geminids Here are some tips on how to maximize your time looking for the Geminids: Get out of the city to a place where city and artificial lights do not impede your viewing If you are out viewing the shower during its peak, you will not need any special equipment. You should be able to see the shower with your naked eyes. Carry a blanket or a comfortable chair with you - viewing meteors, just like any other kind of star gazing is a waiting game, and you need to be comfortable. Plus, you may not want to leave until you can’t see the majestic celestial fireworks anymore. Check the weather and moonrise and moonset timings for your location before you leave, and plan your viewing around it. Geminid meteor shower 2016 ahead | Astronomy Essentials | EarthSky Geminid meteor shower 2016 ahead By Bruce McClure in Astronomy Essentials | Space | December 8, 2016 Peak night for the Geminids in 2016 is December 13 (morning of December 14). Best around 2 a.m. Moonlight interferes but these meteors are bright.

Maybe you’ll catch a cool photo! View larger. | Geminid fireball caught by Eliot Herman in the Tucson, Arizona foothills, during the 2015 shower. We’re hoping for some excellent photos of Geminid meteors in 2016, despite the overpowering moonlight this year. The shower starts around the second week in December, but, in a bit of bad timing, full moon comes on the peak night (December 13-14) this year. Still, these meteors are known for being bright, so some Geminid meteors may well overcome this year’s moonlit glare. Watch on the evening of December 13 until dawn December 14. The nights before and after might be good as well. Geminid meteors tend to be few and far between at early evening, but intensify in number as evening deepens into late night. This shower favors Earth’s Northern Hemisphere, but it’s visible from the Southern Hemisphere, too. Follow the links below to learn more about the Geminid meteor shower in 2016. View larger. | Geminid meteor as captured by Henry Shaw of SummersMagic Photography.

Click here to learn from Henry Shaw how to take photos of meteors. The Geminid meteors radiate from near the star Castor in Gemini. How to watch the Geminid meteors in 2016. The Geminids are a particularly reliable and prolific shower, one of the finest of the year. In 2016, the peak night could be the night of December 13 (morning of December 14). Try the nights before and after, too, anywhere from about the evening of December 12 to the morning of December 15. You need no special equipment – just a dark, open sky and maybe a sleeping bag to keep warm. Plan to sprawl back in a hammock, lawn chair, pile of hay or blanket on the ground. Lie down in comfort, and look upward. Your local peak will typically be centered at about 2 a.m. local time, no matter where you are on the globe. That’s because the constellation Gemini – radiant point of the shower – will reach its highest point for the night around 2 a.m. (your local time).

As a general rule, the higher the constellation Gemini climbs into your sky, the more Geminid meteors you’re likely to see. Some people mistakenly think that, since meteor showers have radiant points, you should look in the direction of the shower’s radiant point to see the most meteors. Not so! The meteors will appear in all parts of the sky. It’s even possible to have your back to the constellation Gemini and see a Geminid meteor fly by. However, if you trace the path of a Geminid meteor backwards, it appears to originate from the direction of the constellation Gemini. Quite by coincidence, the dazzling planet Jupiter will rise in the east at about the same time that the Geminid radiant climbs highest up for the night: around 2 a.m. So count upon Jupiter, the sole visible planet in the December 2016 morning sky, to keep you good company from about 2 a.m. until dawn! It’s fun to bring along a buddy. Then two of you can watch in different directions. When someone sees one, they can call out “meteor!” This technique will let you see more meteors than one person watching alone will see.

Be sure to give yourself at least an hour of observing time. It takes about 20 minutes for your eyes to adapt to the dark. Be aware that meteors often come in spurts, interspersed with lulls. Painting of 1860 earthgrazer fireball by Frederic Edwin Church. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons An earthgrazer meteor possible at early evening. You won’t see as many Geminid meteors when the constellation Gemini sits close to the eastern horizon during the evening hours. As night passes, the Geminid’s radiant will climb upward, so that the meteors will be raining down from a point that’s higher in the sky. Even so, the evening hours are the best time to try to catch an earthgrazer meteor. Earthgrazers are rarely seen but prove to be especially memorable, if you should be lucky enough to catch one. An earthgrazer is a slow-moving, long-lasting meteor that travels horizontally across the sky. Meteor flying straight from Gemini’s two brightest stars, Castor and Pollux, during the 2012 Geminid meteor shower. Photo by EarthSky Facebook friend Mike O’Neal in Oklahoma.

Why are these meteors called the Geminids? If you trace the paths of the Geminid meteors backward, they all seem to radiate from the constellation Gemini, hence the reason for the meteor shower’s name. In fact, the radiant point of this meteor shower nearly coincides with the bright star Castor . However, the radiant point and the star Castor just happen to be a chance alignment, as Castor lies about 52 light-years away while these meteors burn up in the upper atmosphere, some 60 miles (100 km) above Earth’s surface. You don’t need to find the constellation Gemini to watch the Geminid meteor shower. These medium-speed meteors streak the nighttime in many different directions and in front of numerous age-old constellations. It’s even possible to see a Geminid meteor when looking directly away from the shower’s radiant point. However, if you trace the path of any Geminid meteor backward, it’ll lead you back to the constellation Gemini the Twins .

Orbit of Asteroid 3200 Phaethon, parent of the Geminid meteor shower Orbital path of 3200 Phaethon, via skyandtelescope.com What causes the Geminid meteor shower? Every year, in December, our planet Earth crosses the orbital path of asteroid 3200 Phaethon, a mysterious body that is sometimes referred to as a rock comet . In periods of 1.43 years, this small 5-kilometer (3-mile) wide asteroid-type object swings extremely close to the sun (to within one-third of Mercury’s distance), at which juncture intense thermal fracturing causes this rocky body to crack and crumble, and to shed rubble into its orbital stream. Annually, at this time of year, the debris from 3200 Phaethon crashes into Earth’s upper atmosphere at some 130,000 kilometers (80,000 miles) per hour, to vaporize as colorful Geminid meteors. Bottom line: Geminid shower ahead! It’s typically best around 2 a.m. when the radiant point – in the constellation Gemini – is highest in the sky.

This year, the full moon will interfere, but we expect some of the brighter Geminids to make an appearance all the same. Try watching anywhere from the evening of December 12 to the morning of December 15. Night of December 13 (morning of December 14) probably the peak. 2016 Geminids Meteor Showers, Best Viewing, Tips & Advice More meteor shower guides -> Leonids | Perseids | Orionids | Quadrantids What: an annual celestial light show of "falling stars" or meteors. When: This year, viewing begins late night on December 13 continuing into the early morning hours of December 14, with peak viewing beginning after midnight on the US East Coast. Where: look east in the early evening hours, then straight up at the constellation Gemini high overhead beginning about 2AM. What to bring: lawn chair, hot cocoa, camera and tripod. The Geminid meteor shower is an annual meteor shower that is extremely regular in its timing and can potentially be visible for days in the late-autumn sky, depending on weather and location.

The Geminid meteor shower is named after the constellation Gemini, which is located in roughly the same point of the night sky where the Geminid meteor shower appears to originate from. In late autumn or early winter, that means viewing the spectacular light show with eyes pointed straight up in the night sky. Geminids are pieces of debris from 3200 Phaethon , basically a rocky skeleton of a comet that lost most of its outer covering of ice after too many close encounters with the sun. Each December, Earth passes through the debris cloud left by the comet as sand-sized specks enter the earth's atmosphere producing a spectacular show of "falling stars." When and where to look for Geminids 2016 Beginning in early December, the Geminid meteor shower grows in intensity to finally reach its zenith on the night of December 13 and continue overnight into the early morning hours. The predicted peak is just after midnight on December 14. This year, a neary full moon will make for less than optimum conditions for viewing, unfortunately. Look east in the early evening, (or straight up later in the wee morning hours at the peak around 2AM ) to watch for the brightest falling stars.

The meteors speed into the atmosphere at 140 kilometers an hour, that's a blazing 80,000 mph! As they push through the air they are very hot and very bright, so even with competition from moonlight in some years the Geminids usually promise a good show. In North America, Canada and US East Coast residents will have the best viewing that night into the early hours on the 14th, but as Geminids are a "long tail" event, expect additional views growing less spectacular several days or nights before and after the peak. While the Geminids have been comparatively a non-event in the last century, they have grown more spectacular in the recent past and this year is predicted to be no exception. How to view Geminids The best place to observe the Geminid meteor shower (or any meteor shower for that matter), is somewhere dark, away from light pollution, and with the moon out of the field of vision. The less light visible, the more brilliant the meteor shower will be. Telescope or camera?

While mostly viewable to the naked eye, the annual Geminid meteor show may be in any year partially obstructed by the moon, clouds or night mist, so amateur astronomers might want to carry along a pair of binoculars or a camera with a telescopic lens. Even on clear nights, some kind of viewing aid may come in handy for catching sight of even the faintest of falling stars, aptly named "telescopic" meteors. On super clear nights, experts advise to forget the telescope and simply ... look up! For photographing the annual event, a digital camera mounted on a tripod helps to steady the images that swiftly move across the sky. A quick trigger finger also helps, but even random clicks during the height of Geminid "prime-time" will also guarantee that you'll catch something. Be sure to have the camera focused on infinity and, if your camera permits, leave the shutter open for several minutes for the most spectacular photographic effects. More about Geminid meteor showers around the Web: EarthSky's Meteor Shower Guide - Find historical details and current best-viewing guide date and times for this year's major celestial events.

Geminids - Wikipedia - Read up on extensive background facts and historical information on Geminid sightings through the centuries, with photos and illustrations, related references and resources. About Meteors - Check out a brief but informative overview of common terms that help identify various sizes and types of meteors. Geminid meteor shower to light up the weekend sky - CNN.com Geminid meteor shower to light up the weekend sky By Melonyce McAfee, CNN Updated 11:28 AM ET, Sun December 14, 2014 Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds. JUST WATCHED Watch meteor shower light up sky 01:33 Story highlights The Geminid meteor shower will be most visible in the night sky over the weekend Geminids are debris from an extinct comet called 3200 Phaethon The meteor shower can be seen more easily from a dark area, away from city lights Amid the twinkling holiday lights adorning homes around the world, a natural light show is set to take center stage over the weekend.

The Geminid meteor shower has been visible in the night sky this week, with the best opportunities for viewing to come on Saturday night. Geminids are debris from an extinct comet called 3200 Phaethon, which was previously believed to be an asteroid, according to NASA. "Basically it is the rocky skeleton of a comet that lost its ice after too many close encounters with the sun," NASA said on its website. The light show comes around annually in mid-December, when the Earth encounters detrius from 3200 Phaethon, "causing meteors to fly from the constellation Gemini." Photos: Among the stars: Your shots of the cosmos Photos: Among the stars: Your shots of the cosmos Among the stars: Your shots of the cosmos – Jason Hullinger went to Joshua Tree National Park last December to catch the Geminid meteor shower. He set up his tripod to take 20-second exposures from about 11 p.m. Thursday to 3 a.m. Friday. He took about 500 photos and combined them with StarStaX, an image stacking and blending software for star trail photography.

Hide Caption 1 of 9 Photos: Among the stars: Your shots of the cosmos Among the stars: Your shots of the cosmos – Gokhan Saymaz is a part-time professional photographer. He created this dazzling image of star trails above Esentepe, in Cyprus. Saymaz used a long exposure technique, shooting 111 frames with a shutter speed of 30 seconds for each frame, before combining them using star trails software. Hide Caption 2 of 9 Photos: Among the stars: Your shots of the cosmos Among the stars: Your shots of the cosmos – An avid astrophotographer, iReporter Carlos Soares took this photo near the Portuguese city of Braga. "This is widefield astrophotography with many targets, taken with a DSLR camera and a lens. We can see several constellations including Cygnus, the Lyra and the Eagle." Hide Caption 3 of 9 Photos: Among the stars: Your shots of the cosmos Among the stars: Your shots of the cosmos – This breathtaking moonrise over the Sahara was taken by Slovenia-based photographer Iztok Medja , while in Morocco.

In a former job as a nautical skipper, he would spend many night shifts gazing longingly at the sky. He says that it was while he was away from the light pollution of the city that his passion for night photography emerged. Hide Caption 4 of 9 Photos: Among the stars: Your shots of the cosmos Among the stars: Your shots of the cosmos – Along with several other camera club members, iReporter Allan Qua Borebor made his way to one of the piers in Caramoan, in the Philippines, at around 11 p.m on June 30th. "The place was so quiet, so serene and so dark ... We were so lucky because a thousand stars showed up," Borebor recalls. "It was a perfect night together with friends." Hide Caption 5 of 9 Photos: Among the stars: Your shots of the cosmos Among the stars: Your shots of the cosmos – Sarah Thornington is a Massachusetts-based iReporter who fell in love with the vast expanse above from a young age. On June 27, she picked up her camera and headed to the local drive-in.

The night had all the conditions for a perfect shoot and Thornington watched as a couple of shooting stars (seen at the top of the image) blazed across the sky. She is already thinking about her summer stargazing bucket list -- to get "that beautiful shot of the Milky Way as it rises over the ocean." Hide Caption 6 of 9 Photos: Among the stars: Your shots of the cosmos Among the stars: Your shots of the cosmos – Greg Hogan may only have been aiming his camera at the sky for the last six months but the astrophotography bug has bitten him pretty hard. "I bought a telescope for $25 at a yard sale and the first time I saw Saturn's rings, I was completely hooked," he says. "There's just so much out there that people don't realize that you can see without the equipment being expensive if you just slow down a minute and take a peek." Hide Caption 7 of 9 Photos: Among the stars: Your shots of the cosmos Among the stars: Your shots of the cosmos – Stephen Gill who loves "science, space and all things tech-y," captured this photo while vacationing in Grand Cayman with his wife on August 13 last year.

"I've been out three nights in a row trying to capture a Perseid (meteor shower) since the conditions here are amazing, and finally got lucky," he said. Hide Caption EarthSky's meteor shower guide for 2017 | Astronomy Essentials | EarthSky Quadrantid meteor in 2016, caught just as the clouds were closing in, by Deb Kestler in Middletown, Rhode Island. January 3 or 4, 2017 before dawn, the Quadrantids Although the Quadrantids can produce over 100 meteors per hour, the sharp peak of this shower tends to last only a few hours, and doesn’t always come at an opportune time. In other words, you have to be in the right spot on Earth to view this meteor shower in all its splendor. The radiant point is in the part of the sky that used to be considered the constellation Quadrans Muralis the Mural Quadrant. You’ll find this radiant near the famous Big Dipper asterism ( chart here ), in the north-northeastern sky after midnight and highest up before dawn.

Because the radiant is fairly far to the north on the sky’s dome, meteor numbers will be greater at northerly latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. In 2017, watch in the wee hours – after midnight and before dawn – on January 3 or 4. Fortunately, the slender waxing crescent moon will set at early evening and won’t intrude on this predawn shower. Everything you need to know: Quadrantid meteor shower March fireball, captured in 2016 by Mike Taylor in Maine, against a backdrop of the aurora borealis. Around the March equinox … fireball season. A fireball is just an especially bright meteor. Northern spring and southern autumn – for a few weeks around the March equinox – is a good time to see one. It’s fireball season — a time of year when bright meteors appear in greater numbers than usual. In fact, in the weeks around the equinox, the appearance rate of fireballs can increase by as much as 30 percent. Why? No one is entirely sure, says NASA. Read more about fireball season.

Lyrid meteor on in 2014 by Simon Waldram in Fuerteventura, in the Canary Islands. He discovered it as he finished batch editing 320 photos to make a startrail image. April 22, 2017 before dawn, the Lyrids The Lyrid meteor shower – April’s shooting stars – lasts from about April 16 to 25. About 10 to 15 meteors per hour can be expected around the shower’s peak on a dark, moonless night. Fortunately, in 2017, the thin waning crescent moon won’t seriously conflict with the peak of the Lyrid meteor shower. In fact, the presence of the lunar crescent and the planet Venus shining together in the eastern predawn/dawn sky should be a fine way to cap the early morning meteor shower. The Lyrids are known for uncommon surges that can sometimes bring the rate up to 100 per hour. Those rare outbursts are not easy to predict, but they’re one of the reasons the tantalizing Lyrids are worth checking out.

The radiant for this shower is near the bright star Vega in the constellation Lyra ( chart here ), which rises in the northeast at about 10 p.m. on April evenings. In 2017, the peak morning is April 22, with the crescent moon and Venus adorning the eastern sky as darkness gives way to dawn. Long meteor caught during the peak of the May, 2016 Eta Aquarid meteor shower, by Darla Young. May 5 or 6, 2017 before dawn, the Eta Aquariids This meteor shower has a relatively broad maximum – meaning you can watch it the day before and after the predicted peak of May 6. This shower favors the Southern Hemisphere, and is often the Southern Hemisphere’s best meteor shower of the year. In 2017, the waxing gibbous moon shouldn’t be too much of a problem, as it will set before the prime-time viewing during the dark hour before dawn. The radiant is near the star Eta in the constellation Aquarius the Water Bearer ( click here for chart ). The radiant comes over the eastern horizon at about 4 a.m.

local time; that is the time at all locations across the globe. For that reason, the hour or two before dawn tends to offer the most Eta Aquariid meteors, no matter where you are on Earth. At northerly latitudes – like those in the northern U.S. and Canada, or northern Europe, for example – the meteor numbers are typically lower for this shower. In the southern half of the U.S., 10 to 20 meteors per hour might be visible in a dark sky. Farther south – for example, at latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere – the meteor numbers may increase dramatically, with perhaps two to three times more Eta Aquarid meteors streaking the southern skies. For the most part, the Eta Aquariids are a predawn shower. In 2017, the most meteors will probably rain down on the mornings of May 5 and 6, in the dark hours before dawn. But watch on May 7 as well! The broad peak to this shower means that some meteors may fly in the dark hour before dawn for a few days before and after the predicted optimal date.

Delta Aquarid in 2014, from David S. Brown in southwest Wyoming. Late July 2017, before dawn, the Delta Aquariids Like the Eta Aquarids in May, the Delta Aquariid meteor shower in July favors the Southern Hemisphere and tropical latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. The meteors appear to radiate from near the star Skat or Delta in the constellation Aquarius the Water Bearer. The maximum hourly rate can reach 15-20 meteors in a dark sky. The nominal peak is around July 27-30, but, unlike many meteor showers, the Delta Aquariids lack a very definite peak. Instead, these medium-speed meteors ramble along fairly steadily throughout late July and early August. An hour or two before dawn usually presents the most favorable view of the Delta Aquariids. At the shower’s peak in late July 2017, the rather faint Delta Aquariid meteors will not have to contend with moonlight, as the waxing crescent moon will set before the midnight hour. But by early August, the waxing gibbous moon will definitely intrude.

Best seen in the wee hours before dawn in late July. Composite image of the 2015 Perseid shower at Mount Rainier National Park. Matt Dieterich, who composed it, calls it ‘Skyfall.’ August 12 and 13, 2017, late night till dawn, the Perseids The Perseid meteor shower is perhaps the most beloved meteor shower of the year for the Northern Hemisphere. Perseid meteors tend to strengthen in number as late night deepens into midnight, and typically produce the most meteors in the wee hours before dawn. Unfortunatel, in 2017, these meteors will have to content with the light of a waning gibbous moon. The Perseid meteors radiate from a point in the constellation Perseus the Hero, but, as with all meteor shower radiant points, you don’t need to know Perseus to watch the shower; instead, the meteors appear in all parts of the sky. They are typically fast and bright meteors. They frequently leave persistent trains.

Predicted peak in 2017: the night of August 11-12 or night of August 12-13, from late night till dawn, under the glare of the waning gibbous moon Draconids near Tucson, Arizona in 2013, by our friend Sean Parker Photography. October 7 or 8, 2017, nightfall and evening, the Draconids The radiant point for the Draconid meteor shower almost coincides with the head of the constellation Draco the Dragon in the northern sky. That’s why the Draconids are best viewed from the Northern Hemisphere. The Draconid shower is a real oddity, in that the radiant point stands highest in the sky as darkness falls. That means that, unlike many meteor showers, more Draconids are likely to fly in the evening hours than in the morning hours after midnight. This shower is usually a sleeper, producing only a handful of languid meteors per hour in most years. But watch out if the Dragon awakes! In rare instances, fiery Draco has been known to spew forth many hundreds of meteors in a single hour.

In 2017, watch the Draconid meteors at nightfall and early evening On October 7 and 8, before the bright waning gibbous moon rises into the sky at early-to-mid evening. Orionid meteor, with aurora, in 2013 by Tommy Eliassen Photography in Norway. October 21, 2017 before dawn, the Orionids On a dark, moonless night, the Orionids exhibit a maximum of about 10 to 20 meteors per hour. Fortunately, in 2017, the young waxing crescent moon will set at early evening, to provide an inky dark sky for this early morning shower. More meteors tend to fly after midnight, and the Orionids are typically at their best in the wee hours before dawn. These fast-moving meteors occasionally leave persistent trains. They sometimes produce bright fireballs, so watch for them to flame in the sky. If you trace these meteors backward, they seem to come from the Club of the famous constellation Orion the Hunter. You might know Orion’s bright, ruddy star Betelgeuse. The radiant is north of Betelgeuse.

The Orionids have a broad and irregular peak that isn’t easy to predict. This year, 2017, presents a moonless sky for the Orionid meteor shower. The best viewing will probably be before dawn on October 21.. In 2015, the Taurids put on a spectacular display of fireballs, which lasted many days. Photographer Jeff Dai captured this one over Yamdrok Lake in Tibet. Late night November 4 until dawn November 5, 2017, the South Taurids In 2017, the almost-full moon will intrude on the expected peak night of the South Taurid shower. The meteoroid streams that feed the South (and North) Taurids are very spread out and diffuse. That means the Taurids are extremely long-lasting (September 25 to November 25) but usually don’t offer more than about 7 meteors per hour. That is true even on the South Taurids’ peak night. The Taurids are, however, well known for having a high percentage of fireballs, or exceptionally bright meteors.

Plus, the other Taurid shower – the North Taurids – always adds a few more meteors to the mix during the South Taurids’ peak night. Peak viewing for a few hours, centered around 1 a.m. local time on November 5, but in 2017, the almost-full moon will obtrude on this year’s South Taurid meteor shower. Will someone catch a Taurid fireball in the glaring moonlight? Time will tell! Late night November 11 until dawn November 12, 2017, the North Taurids Like the South Taurids, the North Taurids meteor shower is long-lasting (October 12 – December 2) but modest, and the peak number is forecast at about 7 meteors per hour. In 2017, the waning crescent moon marginally disturbs this shower in the wee morning hours on November 12. Click here to find out when the moon rises in your sky, and watch these meteors in the late night hours before moonrise.

The North and South Taurids combine, however, to provide a nice sprinkling of meteors throughout October and November. Typically, you see the maximum numbers at around midnight, when Taurus the Bull is highest in the sky. Taurid meteors tend to be slow-moving, but sometimes very bright. In 2017, watch from late night November 11 till dawn November 12. Fortunately, the waning crescent moon shouldn’t seriously jeopardize your enjoyment of this year’s 2017 North Taurid shower. James Younger sent in this photo during the 2015 peak of the Leonid meteor shower. It’s a meteor over the San Juan Islands in the Pacific Northwest. November 17 or 18, 2017, before dawn, the Leonids Fortunately, in 2017, there is no moon to light up the peak night of the Leonid shower!

Radiating from the constellation Leo the Lion, the famous Leonid meteor shower has produced some of the greatest meteor storms in history – at least one in living memory, 1966 – with rates as high as thousands of meteors per minute during a span of 15 minutes on the morning of November 17, 1966. Indeed, on that beautiful night in 1966, the meteors did, briefly, fall like rain. Some who witnessed the 1966 Leonid meteor storm said they felt as if they needed to grip the ground, so strong was the impression of Earth plowing along through space, fording the meteoroid stream. The meteors, after all, were all streaming from a single point in the sky – the radiant point – in this case in the constellation Leo the Lion. Leonid meteor storms sometimes recur in cycles of 33 to 34 years, but the Leonids around the turn of the century – while wonderful for many observers – did not match the shower of 1966.

And, in most years, the Lion whimpers rather than roars, producing a maximum of perhaps 10-15 meteors per hour on a dark night. Like many meteor showers, the Leonids ordinarily pick up steam after midnight and display the greatest meteor numbers just before dawn. In 2017, the Leonids are expected to fall most abundantly before dawn November 17 or 18, with no moon to ruin the show. Cynthia Haithcock in Troy, North Carolina caught this Gemini in 2015. Looks like a bright one! December 13-14, 2017, mid-evening until dawn, Geminids Radiating from near the bright stars Castor and Pollux in the constellation Gemini the Twins, the Geminid meteor shower is one of the finest meteors showers visible in either the Northern or the Southern Hemisphere. In 2017, the light from the slender waning crescent moon won’t be much to worry about. The meteors are plentiful, rivaling the August Perseids. They are often bold, white and bright.

On a dark night, you can often catch 50 or more meteors per hour. The greatest number of meteors fall in the wee hours after midnight, centered around 2 a.m. local time (the time on your clock no matter where you are on Earth), when the radiant point is highest in the sky. In 2017, watch the usually reliable and prolific Geminid meteor shower from mid-evening December 13 until dawn December 14. Everything you need to know: Geminid meteor shower A word about moonlight. In 2017, moonlight will pose no problem for the January Quadratids, July Delta Aquariids, October Orionids and November Leonids. The moon will pose no serious interference with the April Lyrids, May Eta Aquariids and December Geminids. There will be some moon-free time for watching the August Perseids in the evening sky. On the other hand, an almost-full moon falls on the peak night of the November South Taurids. Our almanac page provides links for access to the moonrise and moonset times in your sky. Most important: a dark sky.

Here’s the first thing – the main thing – you need to know to become as proficient as the experts at watching meteors. That is, to watch meteors, you need a dark sky. It’s possible to catch a meteor or two or even more from the suburbs. But, to experience a true meteor shower – where you might see several meteor each minute – avoid city lights. Know your dates and times. You also need to be looking on the right date, at the right time of night. Meteor showers occur over a range of dates, because they stem from Earth’s own movement through space. As we orbit the sun, we cross “meteor streams.” These streams of icy particles in space come from comets moving in orbit around the sun. Comets are fragile icy bodies that litter their orbits with debris. When this cometary debris enters our atmosphere, it vaporizes due to friction with the air. If moonlight or city lights don’t obscure the view, we on Earth see the falling, vaporizing particles as meteors. The Lyrids take place between about April 16 and 25.

The peak morning in 2016 should be April 21, but you might catch Lyrid meteors on the nights around that date as well. Where to go to watch a meteor shower. You can comfortably watch meteors from many places, assuming you have a dark sky: a rural back yard or deck, the hood of your car, the side of a road. State parks and national parks are good bets, but be sure they have a wide open viewing area, like a field; you don’t want to be stuck in the midst of a forest on meteor night. An EarthSky friend and veteran meteor-watcher and astrophotographer Sergio Garcia Rill also offers this specific advice : … you might want to give it a try but don’t know where to go. Well, in planning my night photoshoots I use a variety of apps and web pages to know how dark the sky is in a certain location, the weather forecast, and how the night sky will look. Here’s the link to Dark Sky Finder . It’s a website that shows the light pollution in and around cities in North America which has been fundamental for finding dark sites to setup shots.

Dark Sky finder also has an app for iPhone and iPad which as of this writting is only 99 cents so you might want to look into that as well. For people not in North America, the Blue Marble Navigator might be able to help to see how bright are the lights near you. The other tool I can suggest is the Clear Sky Chart . I’ve learned the hard way that, now matter how perfectly dark the sky is at your location, it won’t matter if there’s a layer of clouds between you an the stars. This page is a little hard to read, but it shows a time chart, with each column being an hour, and each row being one of the conditions like cloud coverage and darkness. Alternatively, you could try to see the regular weather forecast at the weather channel or your favorite weather app. What to bring with you. You don’t need special equipment to watch a meteor shower. If you want to bring along equipment to make yourself more comfortable, consider a blanket or reclining lawn chair, a thermos with a hot drink, binoculars for gazing at the stars. Be sure to dress warmly enough, even in spring or summer, especially in the hours before dawn. Binoculars are fun to have, too.

You won’t need them for watching the meteor shower, but, especially if you have a dark sky, you might not be able to resist pointing them at the starry sky. Are the predictions reliable? Although astronomers have tried to publish exact predictions in recent years, meteor showers remain notoriously unpredictable. Your best bet is to go outside at the times we suggest, and plan to spend at least an hour, if not a whole night, reclining comfortably while looking up at the sky. Also remember that meteor showers typically don’t just happen on one night. They span a range of dates. So the morning before or after a shower’s peak might be good, too. Remember … meteor showers are like fishing. You go, you enjoy nature … and sometimes you catch something. Peak dates are derived from data published in the Observer’s Handbook by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and Guy Ottewell’s Astronomical Calendar. This Geminid meteor is seen coming straight from its radiant point, which is near the two brightest stars in Gemini, Castor and Pollux. Photo taken on the night of December 12-13, 2012 by EarthSky Facebook friend Mike O’Neal in Oklahoma.

He said the 2012 Geminid meteor shower was one of the best meteor shows he’s ever seen. Bottom line: Look here for information about all the major meteor showers between now and the year’s end. There are some good ones! The Biggest Meteor Shower of the Year Is Tonight and Here's How to Watch The Biggest Meteor Shower of the Year Is Tonight and Here's How to Watch Go to permalink Tonight’s Geminids are going to be the biggest meteor shower of this year, and you absolutely should not miss it. Here’s when, where, and how to watch the Geminid meteor shower—and what you should be looking for when you do. What are the Geminids? The Geminids are a mid-December meteor shower (this year peaking Sunday, December 13th) formed by the debris of comet 3200 Phaeton burning up in our atmosphere. Phaeton is unusual in that it was only recently recognized as a comet at all. Advertisement For many years, astronomers thought that Phaethon was really a large asteroid, due to its total lack of ice.

Eventually, researchers figured out that Phaethon’s lack of ice was simply due to how close its path was to the sun, and they reclassified it as an extinct comet or a “rock comet.” That extinct comet is responsible for the Geminids you’ll see this weekend. Top image: 2014 Geminids over Nevada / David Kingham ; Image of comet: Artist’s concept of rock comet 3200 Phaeton / NASA-JPL Advertisement The Geminids are a fairly young shower—people didn’t even begin to keep records on the meteor shower until around the American Civil War . Initially, it was a light enough shower that it barely registered for any but the most hardcore of 19th-century astronomy geeks. Since then, though, the number of meteoroids simply exploded. Today, the Geminids are almost always the largest meteor shower of the year—and 2015 will be no exception. This weekend’s Geminids are expected to blaze through the skies at a steady clip of 120 meteors per hour, according to NASA, though some observatories (like Slooh) are suggesting we could see up to 150.

The closest we’ve seen to that in 2015 were the Perseids, which at their peak only reached 100 meteors per hour. In short, this will be an amazing show that you absolutely shouldn’t miss. Image: 2014 Geminds / Scott Butner Sponsored It’s not just the numbers of meteroids that you’re going to see that makes this weekend’s shower so exceptional; it’s also the meteors themselves—and some unusual behavior you may see when you look above. Image: 2012 Geminids over South Dakota / David Kingham A Strange Show Because Phaeton is a strange comet, the behavior of its meteoroids is also a little unusual. One of the marks of the Geminids is that—instead of the mix of ice, rock and assorted space debris you usually see falling in a meteor shower—these are just pieces of the rock comet breaking away. This means the meteoroids are more substantial than you see in most showers, which lets them fall deeper into our atmosphere and also creates longer arcs.

Image: 2012 Geminids composite / NASA Marshall Advertisement Advertisement The Geminids are also an usually slow shower—averaging at about 22 miles / second. This is excellent news for meteor-watchers because it means that you have a better chance of spotting some of those stunningly long trails as they spread across the sky. When you do spot those trails, you should also be on the lookout for something else: Color. Like last month’s Leonids, the Geminids are famous for showing up in something other than black-and-white. This is because of the elements that compose the meteoroids. While the Leonids often show up in shades of green and purple, the Geminids more commonly sport shades of yellow, blue, and green. Image: 2013 Geminids / StarryEarth So, How Do I Watch? One of the (many) wonderful things about the Geminids is that you have pretty much the entire night to watch them. Although they’re expected to reach their peak in the pre-dawn hours of Monday, December 14, anytime after 9 p.m. on Sunday, December 13 should give you an excellent view of the show.

Advertisement This year should be especially good, though, because the new moon is on December 11th. By the 13th, it will still be just barely visible and is expected to set early in the night—excellent news for visibility. Skies should be dark, making clouds the biggest visibility worry. If you’re lucky enough to have a clear night, you won’t be disappointed. Video: 2012 Geminids timelapse / Kenneth Brandon What do I need? There is one big drawback to the Geminids: In addition to being the biggest meteor shower of the year, they are also typically the coldest. In previous editions of Sky Guide, I’ve suggested you bundle up as needed for your own personal level of comfort—the time for such flippancy is past. Advertisement Advertisement This is a real winter meteor shower, friends, and this is not a drill. Hat, gloves, a warm coat, a flask of something warming (whether bourbon or coffee), blankets: these are your weapons in the fight against the cold and only by having them at the ready can you expect to last the night.

Images: Geminds 2013 / Dirk Essel And you’re going to want some time out there because the meteoroids should be falling fairly thick. To spot them, a good bet is to start by looking at the radiant (the spot where the meteoroids appear to originate) and then cast your gaze outwards over the full sky. Advertisement Go ahead and bring a star wheel or a sky-mapping app along with you to help find it. You can also find it simply by locating the constellation Gemini (it’s just slightly to the left of Orion) and looking right above. Image: Geminids radiant, NASA / JPL I usually recommend laying a blanket out on the ground or lying back on your car as the best way to get a full, overarching view of the sky. Not this time. Even if you don’t have snow, the ground is likely to be cold enough to send you inside quicker than you want. Advertisement Advertisement If you do get chased back inside, either by sky-blocking clouds or the chill, all is not quite lost. You can still catch up on the action online: Slooh always has a nice feed of the show broadcasting from the Canary Islands.

But really, the joy of meteor showers is in watching them live and in-person. So do a little preparation, and (with a little cooperation from the weather) you’ll see something to remember this weekend. Image: 2013 Geminids / Teide Observatory (Canary Islands Astrophysics Institute, IAC / StarryEarth Gear from Kinja Deals Geminid Meteor Shower: Dust From an Asteroid Geminid Meteor Shower: Dust From an Asteroid By Elizabeth Howell, Space.com Contributor | December 7, 2016 11:35am ET MORE Editor's update: The next Geminid meteor shower will peak on the night of Dec. 13 and morning of Dec. 14 in 2016. The Geminids usually put on a dazzling display that wows skywatchers around the world. This year, however, December's supermoon will wash out all but the brightest shooting stars. Find out when, where and how to see this year's display , and check out amazing Geminid meteor photos by stargazers . The Geminids are a meteor shower that happens every December.

NASA says astronomers consider it one of the "best and most reliable" showers of the year, but the shower actually did not start occurring until very recently (in astronomical and human terms). First reports of the shower emerged in the mid-1800s, but at the time there were only 10-20 meteors per hour. These days, it's more like 120 meteors at the peak. Astronomers are puzzled about the number of meteors observed. While scientists have known for a generation about the source of the shower – an asteroid named 3200 Phaethon – the volume of the shower's meteors is strange given the observed amount of debris. Clouded origins The Geminids appear to come from the constellation Gemini , but in reality it is fragments of 3200 Phaethon that cause the sky fireworks. The asteroid has a debris trail in orbit around the sun. Once a year, Earth runs into this dusty path, which intersects our planet's path through space. The Infrared Astronomical Satellite first spotted the asteroid in 1983.

Phaethon was named after the driver and sun-god of Helios' chariot because it gets so close to the sun — within about 13 million miles (21 million kilometers), or only 14 percent of the distance between Earth and the sun. Harvard College Observatory's Fred Whipple was the first to observe that Phaethon produces the Geminids. Some astronomers think a chunk of dust was carved off of the asteroid a few centuries ago, NASA's Bill Cooke, from the agency's Meteoroid Environment Office, said in a 2012 interview with SPACE.com . It's probable that a crash with another space rock produced the dust, which stayed in space for several human lifetimes without going near Earth. However, Jupiter's gravity slowly perturbed the path of dust until Earth began to run into it. Further influences from the gas giant have pushed the debris closer to our planet, producing a better "peak" of meteors than a century ago. [ Photos: Stunning Geminid Meteor Shower Wows Skywatchers ] There are a couple of competing theories.

One hypothesizes that Phaethon broke away from the asteroid Pallas, which produced the Geminids, but Cooke noted the dust particles don't cleanly match the hypothesis. Another idea supposes that as Phaethon gets close to the sun, the heat blasts particles off the asteroid. NASA's twin STEREO spacecraft looked at the asteroid between 2009 and 2012, and results published in 2013 indicated that they saw a tail emerging from the comet. Researchers believe that when Phaethon approaches within 0.14 astronomical units, its temperature gets above 1,300 degrees F (700 C), hot enough to cause the dust stream. Sister meteor shower? When the Geminids are active, their peak can stretch for almost as long as Earth's 24-hour day. Also, they are visible earlier in the evening than other meteor showers , generally around 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. local time, NASA said. This makes the shower more accessible to children. As the meteor shower goes on until dawn, the agency urges patience for those watching.

The best chances of success is to get away from streetlights, to spend at least 30 minutes outside before seeking meteors, and to face south (the approximate direction of the radiant, or point of origin) while looking at as much of the sky as possible. Sleeping bags or blankets may be of help in colder climates. Cooke added that the bright meteors make some people think a rock will land nearby, but the shower won't produce meteorites (meteors that make it all the way to the ground.) "That's an illusion. It's very rare, exceedingly rare, for a meteorite to land near an individual, and the Geminids won't produce meteorites. They will not make it to the ground. People don't have to worry about getting hit by falling Geminids." Meteor showers can be awesome night sky sights, but how well do you know your shooting star facts? Find out here and good luck!

'The King of Meteor Showers': Brightly Colored Geminids Streaked Across Night Sky This Weekend 'The King of Meteor Showers': Brightly Colored Geminids Streaked Across Night Sky This Weekend By By Brian Lada, Meteorologist December 15, 2015, 12:19:17 AM EST The most impressive meteor shower of the year peaked this past weekend, and clouds blocked the view for many along the Eastern and Western coasts of the United States. The Geminid Meteor Shower stands out as one of the best of the year and is sometimes referred to as "the King of Meteor Showers," according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Dave Samuhel. As many as 100 to 150 shooting stars will streak across the night sky every hour. People from all around the globe will be able to see this incredible light show, although the shower favors those in the Northern Hemisphere. This year, the Geminids peaked the night of Sunday, Dec. 13, into the morning of Monday, Dec. 14. Large swaths of North America missed out on the shower's peak due to clouds.

“The weather is usually a big factor and this year was no different,” Samuhel said. “A massive storm organized in the Plains this weekend and barreled eastward, bringing widespread clouds to the eastern half of the country,” Samuhel said. These clouds prevented people from Boston to Chicago and south to Atlanta, from seeing the shower. The unrelenting train of storms in the Pacific Northwest also sent a thick blanket of clouds over the region. Those affected by cloud-filled skies on Sunday night may not completely miss out on the meteor shower. Some meteors from the Geminids should be visible following the peak. However, not as many meteors will be visible. Stargazers who encountered cloudy skies can replay Slooh's live broadcast of the meteor shower below. The Geminid Meteor Shower does not only produce a plethora of shooting stars but is also known to produce some unusual colors as they streak across the star-studded sky. Most of the meteors will appear white or yellow, but according to Slooh , a small number may appear red, blue or even purple. The color of light that the meteors produce depends on their chemical composition.

Different chemicals in the meteors produce different colors as they burn up while entering the Earth’s atmosphere. Tips for Viewing the Geminids The best time to view the Geminids will be around 2 a.m. EST. This is when the radiant point, or point at which the meteors originate, reaches its highest point in the night sky. However, some meteors may be seen as early as sunset and last all the way into the way into the early morning hours leading up to sunrise. RELATED: AccuWeather Astronomy Facebook Page There is no particular part of the sky to focus on to view the Geminids. Even though the radiant point will be to the southwest, it will be so high in the sky that meteors will appear all across sky. It may take a few minutes for meteors to become visible since it takes several minutes for people’s eyes to adjust to the dark. Being in an area with little light pollution is also important since the lights from nearby towns and cities can make the meteors more difficult to spot. Be sure to check the AccuWeather Astronomy Facebook page for more updates leading up to the peak of the shower, as well as to share any Geminid pictures that you capture.

Have questions, comments, or a story to share? Email Brian Lada at Brian.Lada@accuweather.com , follow him on Twitter at @Wxlada . Follow us @breakingweather , or on Facebook and Google+ . Geminid Meteor Shower 2015: Peak Times, How to Watch, Photos and More Geminid Meteor Shower 2015: Peak Times, How to Watch, Photos and More Jessica Eggert Pin it Share While sky shows tend to be overhyped , the Geminid meteor shower that will peak this Sunday and Monday is supposed to be one of the most promising of the year with roughly 50 shooting stars per hour, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. Here's when and how to watch the 2015 Geminid meteor shower and photos from last year's stellar phenomenon. What's in a name? The upcoming meteor shower is named Geminid because it radiates from the Gemini twin stars Castor and Pollux, Forbes reported. The waxing crescent moon, a less-than-half-illuminated moon that's in its growing phase, should set early, leaving the sky dark for prime viewing opportunity, according to EarthSky .

"The December Geminids are a particularly reliable and prolific shower, one of the finest of the year," reads a statement on EarthSky's guide. How to watch: The sky show should be in full effect between 10 p.m. on Sunday through 6 a.m. on Monday, the Post-Gazette reported, but optimal viewing will happen after midnight. According to EarthSky, peak viewing will occur at 2 a.m. local time regardless of location. Contrary to popular belief, the meteor shower can't just be seen from its radiant point, but from anywhere throughout the sky, according to EarthSky, but the Geminid meteors will appear to trace back to the Gemini constellation. EarthSky recommends waiting at least an hour to spot the meteor shower as it takes the eye at least 20 minutes to adapt to the dark enough to spot it. Here's a look at previous Geminid meteor showers: View photos Geminid Meteor Shower 2015: Peak Times, How to Watch, Photos and More More Geminid Meteor over the Everglades on Dec. 14, 2012 Source: Flickr Dec. 13, 2014 Source: Flickr Dec.

13, 2012 Source: Flickr Geminid meteor over Pamporovo, Bulgaria, Dec. 14. 2012 Source: Flickr View photos Geminid meteor shower reaches its peak – Astronomy Now 11 December 2014 Mark Armstrong The radiant of this weekend’s Geminid meteor shower lies near star Castor in Gemini. AN graphic by Greg Smye-Rumsby The Geminid meteor shower is now the richest meteor shower of the year, rivalling the summer Perseids in popularity. This year the Geminids are at their best over the coming weekend, giving more observers a great chance to stay up late or rise early and still catch up on some sleep! With normal limits of 8-17th December, the maximum is predicted for the 7 am on the night of 13/14th December (Saturday/Sunday).

I would recommend having a good look on the nights of 12/13th and 14/15th too, as there might be a fair sprinkling of Geminids to enjoy, especially the latter date as observations tend to suggest many of the brighter events occur some hours after maximum so it’s possible the tail-end of this could be observed. In good conditions the Geminids regularly produce 80 meteors per hour (ZHR 100+) with the radiant, which lies a few degrees north of Castor, highest in the south (67 degrees) at 1 am. The radiant is up all night and morning twilight won’t start to interfere until around 6:30 am (London), so the peak of the shower can be enjoyed as long as you can keep the Moon to your back or hidden behind a building. Astronomy Now’s Peter Grego reckons it is not unreasonable to expect to see half a dozen nice events in 30 minutes of watching close to the maximum. Even under moderately light polluted skies, the brightest Geminids should punch through the orange glow. Geminids over Pendleton. Image credit: Thomas W.

Earle Geminids are relatively slow meteors entering the upper atmosphere at speeds of 35 kilometres/second and there are a large proportion of bright, colourful events. The meteoroid stream has spawned from an asteroid — sungrazing (3200) Phaethon — rather than a comet and this seems to make the debris more solid or robust and can survive for longer before burning up. Recent images has actually shown a comet-like tail to Phaethon so it’s more appropriate perhaps to term it a ‘rock comet’. The Moon severely marred last year’s show but this year prospects are significantly better. The Moon is at Last Quarter and on the night of 13/14th December will be above the horizon from midnight onwards, lying in that thin strip of Leo territory between Sextans and Virgo, a good 60 degrees away from the radiant. As with observing any meteor shower the best advice is not to stare at the actual radiant but at an altitude of 50 degrees (about the same altitude of the Pole Star from the UK) and 30-40 degrees to one side of shower radiant (the width of a fist held at arm’s length is about ten degrees).

Recent nights have been bone-chilling so be well prepared, especially if you are travelling to a dark site to make your watch. Wrap up well in layers of warm, dry clothing and keeping hands, feet and head warm is essential! Many people just prefer to observe for fun but if you would like to ‘do some science’, then check out the advice on the British Astronomical Association’s website . Inside the magazine

Question: The Geminids of December are a?
Answer: Meteor shower