| Geminids Meteor Shower December 13, 2024 ⬅︎ |
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The Northern Giant
The Geminids meteor shower may be the best of all showers due to its very high peak rate (120 meteors per hour), bright colorful meteors and lots of fireballs.
In comparison, the Quadrantids of January has a similar rate but is far dimmer, while the popular Perseids of August has a lower rate (but has more fireballs).
It's possible to spot Geminids from December 4 to 20 with a peak around December 13. See below for this year’s peak. The radiant is next to the bright star Castor in Gemini, making it easy to find.
Unlike most other meteor showers, the Geminids are associated not with a comet but with an asteroid, 3200 Phaethon, which takes about 1.4 years to orbit the Sun.
| Dates |
Rate |
Speed |
Radiant |
Parent |
2024 Peak |
| Dec 4-20 |
120 |
22 mi/s |
Gemini |
Asteroid 3200 Phaethon |
Dec 13/14 |
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| Viewing Geminids Meteor Shower | | Level | Easy | Rating |  | Best Viewing | Night of December 13/14 | | Find | To find the radiant, look in the NE sky for bright Castor, in Gemini. The radiant is just above (see above). In the Starry Hill region, the radiant is above the horizon throughout the night.
|  | In general with meteor showers, the best viewing begins after midnight and improves each hour until just before dawn.
|  | For 2024, some bad news is that a bright Waxing Gibbous moon will be rising about 2:39 PM and will make it difficult to view any but the brightest of meteors. It won't be setting until about 6:08 AM on the 14th. |
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| More info: All about Shooting Stars, Meteors and Meteor Showers
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