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Credit & Copyright: Juan Carlos Casado
(TWAN)
Explanation:
The
dependable annual Geminid meteor shower
will be near its peak tonight
(December 13/14) and before tomorrow's dawn.
As Earth crosses through the
dusty
trail of active asteroid 3200 Phaethon
the meteors will flash through the sky from the shower's
radiant in Gemini.
Gemini will be pretty easy for skygazers to find too as it won't be far
from a nearly full waning gibbous Moon.
You don't have look at the shower's radiant to see meteors though.
The almost full moonlight won't hide the brightest of the Geminids
from view either,
but it will substantially reduce the rate of visible
meteors for those who are counting.
In
fact, the 2019 Geminids
should look a lot like the 2016 meteor shower
This composite image from the 2016 Geminids aligns individual
short exposures to capture many of the brighter Geminid meteors,
inspite of a Full Moon shining near the constellation of the Twins.
Along the horizon are the Teide Observatory's
Solar Laboratory (right) and the
Teide volcano on the Canary Island of Tenerife.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: meteor shower - full moon
Publications with words: meteor shower - full moon
See also: