Published on Dec. 10, 2024, 12:30 PM
Clear skies this week? Now's the time to catch one of the best meteor showers of the year!
We are fast approaching the peak of the Geminid meteor shower, but the days leading up to it might be the best time to watch this spectacular celestial event.
Look up on any clear night this week and you may spot the occasional streak of light flashing by overhead, as part of the annual Geminid meteor shower. Even better, each night, right up until Friday, December 13, the number of meteors we can potentially see from this event is expected to nearly double.
This will all culminate on Friday night and early Saturday morning, during the meteor shower's peak, when the Geminids can deliver up to 100 meteors per hour.
Dec-13-14-Geminids-2024
The radiant of the Geminid meteor shower, in the northeastern sky, on the night of December 13-14, 2024. The nearly Full Moon, Jupiter, and Mars, will all be visible in the sky during the meteor shower's peak. (Stellarium/Scott Sutherland)
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However, although this is one of the three best annual meteor showers — along with the January Quadrantids and the August Perseids — this year, the timing of the Geminids peak does not match up very favourably with the phases of the Moon.
To get the most out of the peak of a meteor shower, there are two ideal conditions. First, having a sky free from cloud cover, so that you can see as much of the sky above as possible. Second, having a completely dark sky, without any sources of competing illumination, such as city lights or the Moon.
Geminid Meteor Shower 2012 - Jeff Dai, NASA
This composite image shows the Geminid meteors detected during the peak of the shower in December 2012. (Jeff Dai/NASA)
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Even for those who get as far away from urban light pollution as possible, on Friday night, we will have a Waxing Gibbous Moon in the sky, just two days shy of Sunday night's Full Moon. With the amount of light the Moon will be casting that night, it will 'wash out' the sky to some degree, making it more difficult for us to see dimmer meteors. This is similar to the impact of urban light pollution, as the Moon's light prevents our eyes from fully adjusting to the dark.