Geminids Meteor Shower
The next meteor shower is the Geminids and it’s strongest right now. So why are you reading my blog? The reason could be that you probably heard all the buzz about the Perseids Meteor Shower in August and the Leonids Meteor of November, but during December the Geminids Meteor Shower is King.
Some may say that the Perseids Meteor Shower was the best meteor shower of the year, I suppose the reason is that the weather is generally better for people in the northern hemisphere. The Geminids meteor shower is usually one of the most reliable meteor showers of the year and possibly the best of 2009. During the Geminids peak that is occurring now until the morning hours of December 14th I have great news, the Moon will be in a waning crescent phase, which means that it will shed little light into the sky and is less likely to hamper your view. A common misconception about meteor showers is that they are better seen at night, when in fact most showers are better seen in the morning hours. This shower should be strongest in the morning of December 14th closest to 05:00 Universal Time (you can check the meteor glossary on this site). Please don’t expect to see hundreds of meteors streaking everywhere all over the sky, but there is a chance to see 1 or 2 meteors per minute. Meteor viewing is not an exact science; there is no perfectly accurate time when a meteor shower will be strongest. So the more time that one spends viewing the more opportunity there is to see meteors. In order to view lots of meteors a person should go to a safe dark area away from man-made lights with a view of as much sky as possible and look at the meteor shower’s radiant, in this case the constellation Gemini. A meteor shower’s radiant also gives the event its name; the Geminids obviously are derived from Gemini.
Use Orion to Locate Gemini
Meteor viewers can locate Gemini by looking for the more familiar and larger constellation Orion. Gemini lies “above” Orion’s Club as illustrated in the above picture. Meteors from this shower will streak through the sky in a split second because they enter the Earth’s atmosphere at more than 80,000 miles per hour. Keep in mind meteors can be seen anywhere in the sky so my best advice is look for the constellation Orion, stay warm, and be patient. If you’ve enjoyed the information on this site, how about treating me to a cup of coffee? I’ll need as many as I can get to stay alert and keep me awake whilst watching this meteor shower and more importantly it’s cold here! Keep your head up!
- Meteor Mark
on Dec 13th, 2009 at 9:27 am
Im currently in malaysia and that means in my local time i’d be seeing this meteor shower at 1pm… This will be my first viewing so really am wondering will i still be able to see it? considering the sun will be out and its one of the hottest times of the day…
on Dec 13th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Stragazer,
You’re right, The peak will occur during the daytime for you, however anytime before the peak when it is dark will be best. As the post states, meteor showers are better seen in the morning. So anyone looking at this shower should generally be able to see activity in the pre dawn hours. Please review the Meteor Shower Viewing Page and the Meteor Glossary on this site. There is tons of information that will help you and others looking to find out when is the best time for them to see the shower.
- Meteor Mark
on Dec 13th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
would i be able to see this in southern california?
on Dec 13th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
Hey, Mark
We are so excited. The sky is currently totally clear and beautiful.
Will post later if we see anything.
((here is your cup of coffee))
Keeping our heads up!
on Dec 13th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
Meteor Mom,
I’m looking forward to your report! It’s raining here.
Jacobo,
Yes you can!
- Meteor Mark
on Dec 13th, 2009 at 10:54 pm
my roommate just noticed the meteor shower over our deck in the florida keys. 22 in 5 minutes time. we had the most wonderful warm clear day and night leading up to this. How come these are not announced more often in the news. It’s wonderful, like the keys version of white snowfall in december
on Dec 13th, 2009 at 11:21 pm
Mary,
I am the news! Thanks for your comment.
- Meteor Mark
on Dec 14th, 2009 at 12:02 am
So, Frustrated!
Just went back out and it is totally foggy, U can’t see the first star in the sky. It is crazy how just 2 hrs. ago, It was great.
Oh Well, maybe next time.
on Dec 14th, 2009 at 12:05 am
Meteor Mom,
This shower will be peaking for people in the Western Hemisphere until dawn. As a matter of fact now until sunrise is the best time to look.
Keep your head up!
- Meteor Mark
on Dec 14th, 2009 at 12:07 am
hey,
I’m in Missouri and was wondering what time would be best for me to the meteor shower. Half the sky is clear and half is cloudy for now. I’m hoping I will be able to see something!
Ali
on Dec 14th, 2009 at 12:28 am
WOW! I am located in Central New Jersey and after a day of MISERABLE weather the skys have finally cleared and THE SHOW HAS BEGUN! 15 in >10 mins. 10 of them were beautiful bright blue! And if it wasn’t for my friend taking out the garbage I would have never known about it! WHY WAS THIS NOT IN THE NEWS!? ENJOY THE SHOW EVERYONE…
on Dec 14th, 2009 at 2:59 am
about 20-30/minute here in Boston 0300 EST
on Dec 14th, 2009 at 6:57 am
AAAhhhhh the one and only time i forgot to tell my daughter about the meteor shower and she sees one great one through a break in the clouds on her way to work!!!!! She wakes me by text to tell me so. I jump in my car and see not one hole in the cloud cover. Drats! She was so excited and now i am sooo jealous. We have been out for the past few months looking for showers and because of clouds haven’t seen any this year. Now she see’s a great one by accident. Oh well. Love your site and glad i found it.Thanks for having it. It’s a big help.
on Dec 14th, 2009 at 10:27 am
My family and I are vacationing on Sanibel Island, Fla. I walked outside last evening around 11:00 pm, and saw my first shooting star and did not realize the magnitude of this display. I located your blog and can confirm that this display was indeed awesome. In a 5 minute time period I observed over a dozen shooting stars. Its brilliance continued well into the earlymorning hours. What a great vacation memory for our family.
on Dec 14th, 2009 at 11:32 am
I watched the meteor shower the morning of the 13th and it wasn’t much a disappointment. In an hour I saw 75 meteors of which 2 were bright fireballs that lasted a few seconds and one was a boldie that wriggled back and forth and then broke into four or five pieces right near the last of it. Most the meteors were a pale green to a bright green even transisting to a bight blue to orange as did the boldie I saw. I saw probably at least two or three that left a persistant train. It was very exciting. I watched the night of the 14th around 10:00 CST and saw a few good ones, but went to bed in anticipation of the morning. I woke up at four to find, to my dismay, it foggy outside. Well, I didn’t get to enjoy the peak, but what I did see did not disappoint me at all. I look forward to how it was for those who saw it!(The peak that is)
on Dec 14th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
ill be up in a plane tonight think we might see a few?
on Dec 14th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Dave,
No, but anything is possible. Please let me know if you do see some.
Keep your head up!
- Meteor Mark
on Dec 14th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Harry,
If you didn’t see the peak then I don’t know what you saw, that’s a fine sample of meteors! I hope you enjoyed your viewing experience.
Keep your head up!
- Meteor Mark
on Dec 14th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Reno,
Awesome, January 3rd is the next meteor shower.
Keep your head up!
- Meteor Mark
on Dec 14th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
got up before dawn, here in northern florida, but it was way too misty and cloudy. couldn’t see a single star. oh well, next time.
on Dec 14th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Lunelearn,
Thanks for the compliment. This was the King of all Moeteor Showers in 2009!
Keep your head up!
- Meteor Mark
on Dec 14th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
Andrew,
I know the feeling. Next time is January 3rd, but the moon may be a problem.
- Meteor Mark
on Dec 14th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
Do you think we will see anything much in the morning?
on Dec 14th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
Meteor Mom,
This was truly the meteor shower of the year and I wish you would have had clear skies. If the meteor shower is a third as strong as the morning of the 14th then yes I think you will see some. The shower has been really active this year and will remain active until December 17th. I was out for an hour and a half and saw more meteors than I have seen all year. Finally the weather and the moon was cooperative for me.
I think you can see that I’m ecstatic about this one, or maybe it’s all the coffee I bought, (I really did by the way)
Thank you and happy holidays!
- Meteor Mark
oh wait, how could I forget, KEEP YOUR HEAD UP!
on Dec 14th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Meteor shower was amazing. Headed down to Joshua Tree and the skies could not have been any clearer. What a great way to top the year off. It was a refreshing 31 degrees so we had to keep moving to stay warm but still pretty amazing
on Dec 14th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
Jacobo,
That’s awesome. this was one of the better meteor showers of the year, possibly the best.
- Meteor Mark
on Dec 17th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
[...] Sunday night into early Monday morning marked the peak of the Geminids meteor shower. As many of the readers etablog Anecdote already know, my other half is a meteor [...]
on Dec 17th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
I was considering purchasing astronomers binoculars,but was wondering how much they might improve meteor shower viewing considering their narrow field of vision. Any thoughts on the matter? Also, I am finding it extremely helpful when you post ” how to find”visual aids using easier to find constellations.( ie… using Orion as an aid to find Gemini and/or The Unicorn) This is my request for more of those. I became hopelessly addicted after viewing the Perseids this year. You have my thanks for this site & all your hard work.
on Dec 17th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Aquarian Twin,
They don’t help at all for meteor shower viewing. They hurt the experience. Check out the Meteor Blog Shop, you will see a couple of stores that I trust for buying binoculars or telescopes.
- Meteor Mark
on Dec 29th, 2009 at 7:06 am
I’ in the northwest. I saw what I believe to be a meteor at about 800pm PST in the southern sky very close to the treeline and lasted at least 1 1/2 seconds. Thats why I pulled up this blog. s this a possible siting.
on Dec 29th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
Manniann,
I’m glad you saw a meteor. It was not part of the Geminids meteor shower. Just remember that all meteors we observe don’t have to be associated with a specific meteor shower.
- Meteor Mark