When, where and best time to see them

The last meteor shower of the year is the one in Jiminideswhich will be maximum on the night of December 13 to 14, but can be seen a few days before and after, between December 4 and 17.

this A group of stars Its name is due to the fact that it comes from Constellation Gemini And It is an unusual group of stars, because its origin is not a comet, but… Asteroid known as Phaethon 3200. Therefore, this is a strange case, since almost all other known meteor showers are caused by comets, but not this meteor: Astronomers speculate on the idea that the asteroid Phaethon was a comet 2,000 years ago, and when it was very close to the Earth, the Sun, its gravity created a major cataclysm that caused Changing the asteroid’s orbit, causing its fragments to break off and leave behind the large debris that is now Gemini.

Like every year around this time, Earth passes through a ring populated by those parts separated from Phaethon. When one of these fragments (or meteorites) comes into contact with the Earth’s atmosphere, it burns due to friction with the air, resulting in the luminous glow that we know as a meteor or shooting star.

Shooting stars

The Geminid meteors have an activity rate of more than 120 meteors per hour and a speed of 35 kilometers per second for several days, making it one of the most active meteor (or meteor) showers of the year, along with the January Quadrantids and the Perseids. From August.

At its peak activity, on the night of December 13-14, up to 150 meteors per hour can be observed. In the Northern Hemisphere, it can be seen at 40 degrees north latitude from one hour after dusk until dawn, which will happen in Barcelona at 6:22 pm on the 13th (Peninsula time) until 8:09 am Peninsula time on fourteenth.

This year will be an ideal year to see Geminis on the night of the 13th to the 14th, as long as there are no clouds, as they are the day after that. the new moonwhich starts at 00:32 on 12 December.

Vision

The meteor shower can be seen from which placealthough the best way to see them well is from places Away from obstacles (such as buildings) or Where there is almost no light. If you try to see them from central Barcelona, ​​it will be very complicated, so it is better to dress warmly (because during these months of the year at night it is not like going to see Perseids In August) and stay away from any place with light.

Moreover, to see Geminids it is not necessary to use any kind of objects such as telescope Because the best tool in this case is Our eyes.