APOD: Geminid Meteors over Xinglong... (2020 Dec 13)

[APOD Robot]

Geminid Meteors over Xinglong Observatory

Explanation: Where do Geminid meteors come from? In terms of location on the sky, as the featured image composite beautifully demonstrates, the sand-sized bits of rock that create the streaks of the Geminids meteor shower appear to flow out from the constellation of Gemini. In terms of parent body, Solar System trajectories point to the asteroid 3200 Phaethon -- but this results in a bit of a mystery since that unusual object appears mostly dormant. Perhaps, 3200 Phaethon undergoes greater dust-liberating events than we know. Over 50 meteors including a bright fireball were captured during the peak of the 2015 Geminids Meteor Shower streaking above Xinglong Observatory in China. The Geminids of December are one of the most predictable and active meteor showers. This year's Geminids peak tonight and should be particularly good because, in part, the nearly new Moon will only rise toward dawn and so not brighten the sky.

<< Previous APOD

This Day in APOD

Next APOD >>

[orin stepanek]

GemindsXinglong_Steed_960_annotated.jpg

New moon; like no moon, well almost! Should be a good night to
watch; 'cept it's so cold!

[Ann]

Dark cloud over a city. Photo: Somjin Klong-ugkara.

---

Lovely APOD! Unfortunately, the night skies over Sweden look like this 🢂



Ann

[Chris Peterson]

Dark cloud over a city. Photo: Somjin Klong-ugkara.

---

Lovely APOD! Unfortunately, the night skies over Sweden look like this 🢂

:(

Ann

Geminids can produce very bright fireballs. Bright enough to light up clouds through their thickness. You could always sit on your terrace and stare at the sky, hoping for an occasional flash. Doesn't that sound like a fun way to spend a December evening?

[johnnydeep]

I note with some sadness that the Wikipedia link to 3200 Phaethon shows an animated gif of the object with the caption "Radar image of 3200 Phaethon taken by Arecibo, December 17, 2017". RIP, Arecibo

[neufer]

I note with some sadness that the Wikipedia link to 3200 Phaethon shows an animated gif of the object with the caption "Radar image of 3200 Phaethon taken by Arecibo, December 17, 2017". RIP, Arecibo

"There have been, and will be again, many destructions of mankind arising out of many causes; the greatest have been brought about by the agencies of fire and water, and other lesser ones by innumerable other causes. There is a story that even you [Greeks] have preserved, that once upon a time, Phaethon, the son of Helios, having yoked the steeds in his father's chariot, because he was not able to drive them in the path of his father, burnt up all that was upon the earth, and was himself destroyed by a thunderbolt. Now, this has the form of a myth, but really signifies a declination of the bodies moving in the heavens around the earth, and a great conflagration of things upon the earth, which recurs after long intervals."

[orin stepanek]

Dark cloud over a city. Photo: Somjin Klong-ugkara.

---

Lovely APOD! Unfortunately, the night skies over Sweden look like this 🢂



Ann

Geminids can produce very bright fireballs. Bright enough to light up clouds through their thickness. You could always sit on your terrace and stare at the sky, hoping for an occasional flash. Doesn't that sound like a fun way to spend a December evening?

🥶

[WWW]

Just caught a few streaks early tonight. Radient point seemed to be a bit higher then as shown in the 2015 picture. One streak went right through middle of Orion from head to toe, (between Betelguese and Bellatrix). Plan on taking another look just after local midnight.

[neufer]

---

.
.
.
.
.
.
Excellent SN cover article

[Chris Peterson]

244 meteors on my allsky camera last night. Most are Geminids, but I haven't filtered out those belonging to other active showers yet.
_

2020-Geminids.jpg