Watch out for the Geminid Meteor Shower

The second finest meteor shower of the year takes place between December 9th and 15th. Try to observer on the morning of December 13th/14th between 1 and 5 am during peak activity. The radiant of the shower lies in the constellation of Gemini, from where the meteors appear. Conditions are favourable this year with no moonlight to drown out the flashes of light caused as the Earth passes though a swarm of particles - typically the size and density of coffee granules. The particles enter the Earth's atmosphere at velocities of many tens of kilometres a second and vaporise as they rub against air molecules, which sets up friction, and leaves a train of ionised gas. Away from street lights, out in the country, observers can see between 60 and 80 meteors an hour - rivalled only by the Perseid meteor shower which occurs in mid August. The Geminids are associated with the asteroid Phaethon, a small inert body which astronomers think is the nucleus of a dead comet. This shower often produces a number of bright meteors and is well worth setting the alarm clock for.