Geminid Meteor Shower 2012: One to Watch
The most reliable meteor shower of the year, the Geminid, is on its way. Here are some tips for viewing the celestial show.
This time next week, the final, major meteor shower of the year – and likely the best – will be peaking. Get yourself a blanket and a clear view of the sky, because you could be in for a great show. The Geminids are so named because they appear to emanate from the constellation, Gemini. Producing about 20 meteors per hour when first sighted in the 1830s, NASA reports the Geminids regularly spawn 80 to 120 meteors per hour at peak. How spectacular is this event? Take a look at this video or some of these photos. What are the Geminids? The Geminids are a relatively young meteor shower that originated as pieces of debris from the celestial object 3200 Phaethon. Phaethon is the rocky skeleton of a comet that lost most of its outer covering of …
