Geminids Meteor Shower - Detailed UPSC Notes

The Geminids Meteor Shower

As per NASA, the Geminids is one of the most reliable annual meteor showers, offering a spectacular show of shooting stars.

• During peak activity and under ideal weather conditions, the Geminids can produce about 100 – 150 meteors per hour for viewing.
• In 2022, the visibility of the shower was reduced due to a waning gibbous moon, resulting in only 30 – 40 visible meteors per hour at the peak in the Northern Hemisphere.

The Unique Geminids

• Unlike most other meteor showers that originate from comets, the Geminids is associated with an asteroid named 3200 Phaethon.
• The Geminid shower is formed from the debris of 3200 Phaethon – an asteroid discovered in 1983. Each year, the earth passes through this trail of debris, resulting in the Geminids showers.
• 3200 Phaethon is the first asteroid to be associated with a meteor shower.
• Geminids meteors are incredibly fast, moving at a speed of about 78,000 miles per hour. Most Geminids burn up at altitudes between 45 -55 miles and do not reach the ground.

Image Source – NASA

Meteor Showers Explained

Meteors are essentially remnants of comets and asteroid bits.

• When these celestial bodies approach the sun, they leave a trail of dust behind. Each year, as the earth passes through these debris trails, the particles collide with the earth’s atmosphere.
• These particles enter the atmosphere at high speeds, igniting and leaving behind streaks of glowing gas that we observe as meteor showers.
• A Meteor Shower occurs when the earth encounters a large number of meteoroids at once.
• Other notable meteor showers include the Leonids, Perseids, Orionids, and Lyrids. When thousands of meteors are spotted per hour, it is referred to as a Meteor Storm.

How Meteor Showers are Named

• Meteor showers are named after the constellation from which the meteors seem to originate.
• The Geminids, for instance, are named so because the meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Gemini. However, the constellation is not the actual source of the meteors.