The Geminid meteor shower should peak on the 13th/14th December, perhaps with rates as high as 100 shooting stars per hour. These is an unusual storm, because it doesn't seem to be associated with a comet. Instead, the source of the tiny rocks that make up the shower seems to be an asteroid called (strangely) 3200 Phaethon. This asteroid zooms very close to the sun during its orbit, so perhaps it gets cooked enough to create a swarm of debris along its orbital path. Another possibility is that 3200 Phaethon was actually smashed off of the much larger asteroid Pallas, and the Geminids are tiny fragments left over from this impact.
Either way, the absence of any Moon on these nights makes it very likely that this year is the best chance you'll get to see this storm. Look towards the north-east in the late evening - dress warmly!
Click to go to the main Bootham page
