Observing Geminids Meteor Shower 2014 - The Last Spectacular Meteor Shower For 2014

It's December and it's time for the spectacular Geminids Meteor Shower 2014 the last meteor shower for 2014 and is expected to peak this weekend, reaching it's maximum on December 14th when it intensifies during the late evening and with last quarter moon to rise around midnight, no worries because Geminids meteor showers are bright even though this shower favors observing in the Northern Hemisphere, it's also visible from the Southern Hemisphere. The Geminids are forecasted to be at their best on the night of December 13th and the early morning of the 14th having it's peak at around 2AM and since the Geminids tends to be bright it would be even much better if lunar glare is minimized as many as 60 meteors per hour can be seen during that time so it's a must to avoid the the city lights as much as possible. Watch closely for the “radiant” it is the point in the sky from which the meteors appear to originate or emanate which is almost overhead, next to the constellation Gemini.



Unlike the Leonids, the origins of Geminids Meteor Shower is far unique because when Earth passes through a path of debris stream left about by a comet, the source of the Geminids is quite different, a 3-mile-wide asteroid-like object called 3200 Phaeton. When Phaeton was discovered in 1983, it resembled like another asteroid, but further observations using NASA’s STEREO spacecraft over the last few years have revealed that 3200 Phaeton has a tail like a comet, so it's considered to be a coemt and it’s now called a rock comet but another in between object that seems to be part asteroid, part comet, you know like half-half:-) So get out and see the Geminids tonight and be dazzled by the beauty of the night skies while geminids streaks across the sky leaving some persistent trails and watch out for some fireballs and bolides which is a striking feature of the Geminids.