Geminids meteor shower visible this month

MANILA, Philippines - Astronomy enthusiasts in the country could watch out this month for the Geminids, one of the most spectacular annual meteor showers, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said yesterday.

In its monthly astronomical diary, Pagasa said the Geminids will reach its peak on the night of Dec. 14 and 15 with an average rate of 40 meteors per hour “under a dark and cloudless sky.”

Pagasa said Geminids is active from Dec. 6 to 19, but the best time to watch is on the morning of Dec. 15.

“The best time to look is during the early morning hours between 2 a.m. and dawn,” Pagasa said.

“Observers won’t need binoculars or a telescope, the naked eye is usually best for seeing meteors which often streak more than 45 degrees across the sky,” it added.

According to the weather bureau, the radiant of the Geminids shower is located near Castor, one of the two bright stars in Gemini.

Radiant pertains to a point in space from which a meteor shower appears to originate.

According to online weather site www.spaceweather.com, the Geminids are not ordinary meteors.

“While most meteor showers come from comets, Geminids come from an asteroid - a near-Earth object named 3200 Phaethon,” it said. – Helen Flores