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Geminids Meteor Showers

2022 DEC 14

Preliminary   > Geography   >   Cosmology   >   Cosmology

Why in news?

  • This year, the Geminids peaked around December 13-14, when, with a clear sky and away from bright city lights, you can watch scores of meteors streak across the sky.

About Meteor Showers:

  • Meteors come from leftover comet particles and bits from asteroids
  • Meteors are usually fragments of comets. As they enter the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed, they burn up, creating a spectacular “shower”.
  • When these objects come around the Sun, they leave a dusty trail behind them.
  • Every year Earth passes through these debris trails, which allows the bits to collide with our atmosphere where they disintegrate to create fiery and colourful streaks in the sky.

What makes the Geminids unique?

  • The Geminids are unique because unlike most meteor showers, they originate not from a comet, but from an asteroid, the 3200 Phaethon
  • NASA describes the Geminids as “one of the best and most reliable annual meteor showers”.
  • If their peak coincides with the new moon, and if the weather is clear, the Geminids can produce approximately 100-150 meteors per hour for viewing.
  • This year however, the moon is bright, and so only 30-40 meteors per hour will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere.

And why are they called Geminids?

  • That comes from the constellation Gemini, from whose location in the sky the meteor shower appears to originate.
  • The constellation for which a meteor shower is named only serves to aid viewers in determining which shower they are viewing on a given night. The constellation is not the source of the meteors.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Consider the following statements regarding ‘Geminids Meteor Showers’

1. They originate from a comet

2. They are not visible in the Northern Hemisphere.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer

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