Astronomy buffs who want to catch this year’s Geminid meteor shower should look to the skies this Sunday night.
Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Astronomy and Atmospheric Science Research Unit lecturer Associate Prof Dr Chong Hon Yew said the annual shower would be visible in the night sky to the naked eye in any direction.
This year’s shower should peak at 1pm local time on Monday, and be visible to western hemisphere observers such as in North America and South America.
“However, the Geminid shower has a broad peak of about one-and-a-half days and so, with good weather permitting and a waning moon, many meteors should be visible on Sunday night,” he said.
The Geminid meteor shower occurs every year between Dec 9 and 19, reaching its peak on Dec 13 and 14.
The annual Geminid meteor shower, which peaks the night of December 14/15, is typically one of the best of the year. Occurring less than a month after the Leonids, the Geminid shower generally features brighter meteors.
The Geminids are so named because, if you trace all the meteor trails backward, they would meet within the boundaries of the constellation Gemini the Twins. This point, called the radiant, lies approximately 3° northwest of the 1st-magnitude star Castor.
If I can stay up so late on Sunday night, I will look upon the skies :)
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