Geminids Meteor Shower

This December, the spectacular Geminid meteor shower is set to amaze.

17:45 01 December 2016

After last month’s Taurid and Leonid meteor shower, people are looking forward to the spectacular Geminid meteor shower set to take place this month. 

 

Created by debris from the 3200 Paethon asteroid that passes close to the sun during its orbit, the Geminid meteor shower peaks from December 12 to December 15 at around 2am where stargazers will be treated with bright shooting stars clearly visible in the northern hemisphere. Observers can expect between 100 to 160 meteors per hour during optimal conditions. 

 

Meanwhile, December’s supermoon is also another sight to behold this month. 

 

"A supermoon, or perigee full moon can be as much as 14% bigger and 30% brighter than an apogee full moon," said NASA.

 

"However it's not always easy to tell the difference. A 30% difference in brightness can easily be masked by clouds or the competing glare of urban lights.

 

"Also, there are no rulers floating in the sky to measure lunar diameters. Hanging high overhead with no reference points to provide a sense of scale, one full moon looks much like any other."

 

Other events to look forward to this month include winter solstice (December 21), which is the longer night of the year, Ursids meteor shower (between December 17 and December 23), and new moon (December 29).