Geminids Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight – Where to Look to See Them

In what will be the final meteor shower of this year, the Geminids meteor shower will reach its peak intensity tonight December 13th and into the morning of Devember 14th. The metwor shower itself actually runs from the 12th to the 16th if you can’t get out tonight.

Peak intensity of the Geminids meteor shower is expected at 11PM eastern time tonight.

According to NASA the Geminids are pieces of debris from an object called 3200 Phaethon. Some astronomers condsider the object an asteroid, but others categorize it as an extinct comet because it still exhibits an increased brightness similar to a comet during its closest pass by the Sun.

The Geminid meteor shower occurs this time each year as our planet passes through the path of debris from Phaethon. Viewers can expect to see about 80 to 120 meteors per hour during the peak times. While experts caution that the light of the full moon will make some of the meteors harder to see, they estimate that 40 sightings per hour should still be a realistic number during the peak.

The Geminids are relatively new to astronomers, having been first reported in the 1830’s. This is in contrast to the other well known meteor showers Perseids or Leonids which have a much longer history.

Where should I look to see the Geminids Meteor Shower?
As the name indicates, the Geminids all appear to come from a point in the sky in the constellation Gemini. Basically start looking up in the sky to the east just a little up and to the left of the moon. The constellation Gemini will be just above the moon as it moves through the sky tonight. For the amateur astronomers, the more precise location would be RA 1h 57m 17s, DEC +0° 34’ 33”.