Geminids meteor shower

Why in news?

• The Geminids meteor shower, believed to be the strongest of the year, is active from December 4-December 20, with December 13 and 14 considered to be the best nights for viewing these meteor showers.

What are meteor showers?

• Meteors are bits of rock and ice that are ejected from comets as they manoeuvre around their orbits around the sun.
• Meteor showers are witnessed when Earth passes through the trail of debris left behind by a comet or an asteroid.
• When a meteor reaches the Earth, it is called a meteorite and a series of meteorites, when encountered at once, is termed a meteor shower.
• According to NASA, over 30 meteor showers occur annually and are observable from the Earth.
• As meteors fall towards the Earth, the resistance makes the space rocks extremely hot and, as meteorites pass through the atmosphere, they leave behind streaks of glowing gas that are visible to the observers and not the rock itself.
• Meteors are best visible on a cloudless night and when the Moon is not extremely bright.

About Geminids meteor Shower:

• The Geminids meteor showers are unique because their origin does not lie in a comet, but what is believed to be an asteroid or an extinct comet.
• The Geminids emerge from 3200 Phaethon, which meteor scientists consider to be an asteroid.
• Discovered on October 11, 1983, the asteroid is over 5 km in diameter and was named after the Greek myth of Phaethon, the son of Sun god Helios.
• NASA says that Geminids travel at a speed of 78,000 mph or 35 km/s.

Prelims Question

Consider the following statements:
1.A meteoroid is the remains of a meteor that has impacted the ground.
2.A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases
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 to prelims question