December Meteor Shower 2008 - The Geminids
The Meteor Shower December 2008 activity will consist of seven special meteor streams. There will be an abundance of viewing opportunities for novice meteor shower viewing as well as more experienced meteor shower enthusiasts. Last month the moon was an immense problem for viewing and regrettably December may fall to the moon’s wrath again. The Geminids Meteor Shower is one of the most unique meteor showers because it is connected to an asteroid known as the 3200 Phaethon and not a parent comet. Some will argue that the 3200 Phaethon asteroid is a comet in its final stages of existence. We will be exploring the 3200 Phaethon as well as chatting about the December 2008 Meteor Showers. Please view the following Meteor Shower Schedule for December 2008 and bookmark our website as we will be exploring all the showers that occur in December.
Meteor Showers December 2008 Schedule
| Name | Peak Date | Start Date | End Date |
| Dec Phoenicids | December 6th | November 28th | December 9th |
| Puppid/Velids | December 6th | December 1st | December 15th |
| Monocerotids | December 8th | November 27th | December 17th |
| σ-Hydrids | December 11th | December 3rd | December 15th |
| Geminids | December 13th | December 7th | December 17th |
| Coma Berenicids | December 20th | December 12th | January 23rd |
| Ursids | December 22nd | December 17th | December 26th |
We will be posting links within the schedule for easy navigation for each shower and posting information as we update the website. Please bookmark the home page to return and visit us for viewing all the articles about each potential viewing opportunity for the month of December 2008.
Happy Viewing! Keep Your Head Up!
- Meteor Mark
on Nov 26th, 2008 at 12:18 am
Hello Meteor Gazers,
Please post your questions, comments and sightings here.
Keep your head up!
- Meteor Mark
on Nov 30th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
What time will be best to view the Geminid meteor shower ’08 from Fife , U.K. Can you advise the best way to photograph them? or point me to a web site for that information.
many thanks
Andy
on Nov 30th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Andy,
The peak date for viewing the Geminids Meteor Shower is December 13th between midnight and dawn. The moon is going to be a major negative factor and hamper the amount of meteors you will see.
Photographing meteors is not a simple task but can be done, you will need a camera and a tripod where the camera’s shutter can remain open. I suggest placing a camcorder on a tripod and film one part of the sky.
I have included a map of the southern sky to locate Gemini, sadly you will see the moon is right in the center of the radiant of the Geminids Meteor Shower.
Keep your head up!
- Meteor Mark
on Dec 1st, 2008 at 12:28 am
Meteor Mark
For the Geminids, looks like the moon is right in the middle of the radiant. I think this might be a problem.
Greg
on Dec 5th, 2008 at 7:03 am
When will be the peak date and time of Geminids Philippine time??
on Dec 5th, 2008 at 9:23 am
Michie,
The schedule for all meteor showers is posted in this thread please look above to see the peak dates for all December Meteor Showers. You can also view this blog post: “When to Look” for more information.
Thanks for the comment.
- Meteor Mark
on Dec 9th, 2008 at 11:10 am
I witnesses a full visual of a ball of fire it seemed last evening [December 8th] around 8:30 pm Eastern Standard Time. Towards the East. I called everyone to see if a Sattelite was predicted to fall into the Earths atmostphere. This meteor was incredibly huge, I have never witnessed anything like it before in my life. Thank you for posting the schedule so I can share the next sightings with friends and family. It is a beautiful, awe inspiring sight.
on Dec 9th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Beth,
That’s great! Fireball sightings are rare, consider yourself lucky. I will be writing some more articles about the December Meteor Showers, we have a few worth viewing.
- Meteor Mark
on Dec 12th, 2008 at 4:34 am
I have seen a couple meteor fall in Los Angeles sky. Just be patient and keep looking up!!
on Dec 12th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
Robb,
You’re right!
Keep your head up!
- Meteor Mark
on Dec 13th, 2008 at 9:46 am
I live in Dallas, TX. Around 9:00 pm Friday, Dec 12th I saw a small meteor in the southwestern portion of the sky. I had never observed anything like that and I honestly thought I was seeing things.
Your website is very informative and helped me confirm what I knew I saw.
Tina Brannon
on Dec 13th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Tina,
Thank you and stay with us, we have meteor shower information every month!
- Meteor Mark
on Dec 16th, 2008 at 8:15 am
I witnessed the first fireball I’ve ever seen. I was driving northwest from Linköping to Borensberg Sweden around midnight on 13 December (GMT+1) What my eyes initially perceived was a falling star, but I realized how much bigger and brighter it was, red/orange at the front and long bright white tail streaming from Northeast to Southwest in the sky in front of me and seeming close enough to have landed in the region had it not burned out. Amazing–and somewhat frightening.
on Dec 28th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Well I consider myself lucky! I happened to get up to go to the bathroom at about 2 or 3 am on December 27th and saw what I thought was an immense amount of light coming down through the skylight and across the floor of the room. I ran to the window to see what could be causing this bright light and to the north east I witnessed a beautiful fireball (blue light) fall across the sky. I didn’t know about the Geminids Meteor Shower until now. Thank you for the confirmation that I haven’t lost my mind. My family wasn’t too sure about my account, considering i was sleeping moments before.
on Dec 28th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Amery Day,
Awesome! Thanks for sharing.
Don’t forget January 3rd, the Quadrantids might be a dandy!
Meteor Mark
on Dec 29th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
I am from Los Angeles. Anyone know where is a good place to watch the Quadrantids (01/03/2009)? Someone told me that there is a park about 30 min North of Pasadena? Thx
on Jan 12th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
I am glad to have found this site. I saw the most incredible fireball in the Vermont sky on December 28. It was some time after 9 p.m., I was alone, driving home from the center of town (Wilmington, VT) up Boyd Hill Rd when it appeared directly in front of me, a green fireball with some blue and even orange on the edge. It seemed to last forever. It was so big it almost made you want to go see where it landed. Was close to the horizon and it seems that from fireball to the end of the tail it took up the entire windshield. What a thrill, all I could do was say thanks for showing me this, I could not stop grinning from ear to ear. What an experience!
on Jan 12th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
Pat,
AWESOME SIGHT! Thank you!
- Meteor Mark
on Jan 25th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
I believe I saw the same meteor Beth saw back in Dec. 08 from my home here in New Milford, CT. I failed to note the date and time however I recall it sometime later in the evening after dinner. I just happened to be looking out my picture window and saw several wide, green streaks coming down with a green fireball somewhere in the center of them. The tail seemed to be wavering from side to side like a fireplace flame. This was observed towards to Southeast sky. Truly amazing siting!