As if Christmas time wasn’t magical enough tonight will mark the peak of the Geminid meteor shower with hundreds of shooting stars visible in the sky over Ireland.
The shower, named for the constellation Gemini, will peak on Dec 14, which means a couple of shooting stars should be visible every minute, as long as the cloud lifts for long enough. The shooting stars can also be some bright that they appear to be yellow, blue or even green.
NASA has predicted that over 100 meteors will fall per hour and can be seen from the northern and southern hemisphere, even to the naked eye. NASA reports that the showers are "beautiful long arcs viewable for 1-2 seconds."
Wow @fromabox ! Amazing display of Geminid meteors over Lindisfarne - Did you see them? https://t.co/re822iEJTe pic.twitter.com/ZAEB3Fx8xq
— The Journal (@TheJournalNews) December 14, 2015
The Geminid shower is believed to be remnants of the extinct ancient comet 3200 Phaethon. Tiny bits of the comet’s debris pass over Earth as shooting stars. It was first spotted in the early 1800s.
According to the star gazers the shower has been going on for a couple of weeks but Dec 13 and 14 is believed to be the peak for watching the skies from Ireland, according to Astronomy Ireland.
The LA Times reports that this year we might have more of a chance at seeing the shower due the “waxing crescent moon that will leave the sky very dark.” Excellent for meteor-watching.
Geminid meteor from Sergio Garcia Rill, at Brazos Bend State Park near Houston More: https://t.co/VIq14NdQHy pic.twitter.com/XjawoqBxDs
— EarthSky (@earthskyscience) December 14, 2015
They report that according to the Royal Astronomy Society “The Geminid meteor shower has gotten more intense in recent years because the gravitational influence of Jupiter and Saturn has shifted a denser debris stream closer to our planet.”
You can also up your chances of seeing the shower by making sure that you’re out of the city or away from lights that might pollute the sky.
NASA will be taking your meteor-related questions on Twitter, starting at 11pm Eastern. Tag your questions with #askNASA.
Here’s a video on the meteor shower in 2014, from NASA:
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