‘One of the greatest displays of all time’: Why this week’s Geminid meteor shower has skywatchers excited

It’s time to celebrate the end of the year with some fireworks, of a heavenly kind.

And this year’s Geminid meteor shower is going to be crazy.

The annual event, which can be viewed in the early hours of the morning from anywhere in Australia this week, is expected to be the best we have seen in a long time.

For starters, unlike previous years, there’s no moon in the sky to obstruct vision, says amateur astronomer Ian Musgrave.

“The sky will be wonderfully dark,” says Dr. Musgrave.

We can also expect higher than usual meteor rates in the early hours of Thursday, December 14 and Friday, December 15.

And the timing is perfect if you’re in party mode.

While the meteor shower peaks on Thursday, Dr Musgrave says the best time to see it will be on Friday morning, with up to 63 meteors per hour forecast for Darwin and 30 per hour in Hobart.

“I don’t think many people are expecting high performance in the weeks leading up to Christmas.”

When will I see the meteors?

If you were out early this morning, you may have been lucky enough to spot an occasional meteor, but you have a much better chance of seeing it on Thursday and Friday mornings.

The best time to see them on the 14th and 15th will depend on where you live:

Adelaide – 3:13 am ACST
Brisbane – 2:13am AEST
Canberra – 3:00am AEDT
Darwin – 2:43 am ACST
Hobart – 2:38am AEDT
Melbourne – 3:17am AEDT
Perth – 2:13 a.m. AWST
Sydney – 2:52am AEDT

The meteor shower will start to ramp up about an hour before these times, so the idea is to get out earlier and watch the whole show unfold.

“For Darwin, for example, you can start seeing it from midnight, and in other places you can start seeing it between about 1 and 1:30 am,” says Dr Musgrave.

To understand why times are different, we need to look at a little astronomy.

The Geminids are created when Earth moves through the debris of an asteroid called 3200 Phaethon.

It is generally daytime in Australia when the Earth passes through the thickest part of the dust cloud, so the maximum rates we see are much lower than in other parts of the world where it is nighttime.

But this year we are experiencing the peak when it is early in the morning in Australia, explains Jonti Horner, an astronomer at the University of Southern Queensland.

“We have good rates even if the exact peak time is not our morning, but when it lines up like this it’s even better,” says Professor Horner.

From the perspective of a stargazer on Earth, the meteors appear to radiate from a point in the constellation Gemini.

Geminid Meteor Shower Sydney 3:00am AEDT December 15.(Stellar/ABC)

The meteor show begins once that point rises above the northeastern horizon in the night sky, but it is best when the point is higher.

Fortunately, this year’s meteor shower is predicted to peak when this point is highest in our skies, so we’ll see more meteors than usual.

And in recent decades, meteorite rates have been increasing as we move deeper into the dust cloud.

How many meteors will I see?

Meteors are visible throughout Australia, but the further north you are, the better.

Here’s a rough guide to the rates you might see at peak in the early hours of the next three days.

The locations indicate the approximate latitude of the dark sky sites, not the city itself. The darker the sky the better, but people who live in urban areas will also see their fair share of meteors.

What should I look for?

Geminid meteors tend to be bright and are not super fast, so they are easier to catch than other meteor showers. There is also the occasional fireball.

“Unlike the really fast ones, you have a good chance of seeing it move across the sky,” says Dr. Musgrave.

However, he adds, Geminids don’t tend to leave dust trains behind them like other meteors.

“The fast meteors leave a train behind them as they cross the sky like a line of smoke.

Some of them may also have a slightly greenish tint, he adds.

“Most will be white, but you will see some with a little bit of color.”

It is not clear why meteors can appear green, says Professor Horner.

“The color depends to some extent on the atmosphere rather than the material of the meteor itself,” he says.

And, he adds, the brighter the meteor, the more likely the human eye is to detect the color.

Where should I look?

To detect these beauties you need to find Beaver and Pollux – the two brightest stars in the Gemini constellation – above the northeastern horizon when rising (and the northern horizon at the peak of the shower).

“They are clearly the brightest stars there are,” says Dr. Musgrave.

The radiant meteor is located just below Castor, the lower star.

But the idea is not to stay looking at this point. You need scan the sky.

“They actually start burning higher up, so you might see them about a hand’s length above or two hands’ to the right (of the radiant) and just let your gaze drift away,” Dr. Musgrave says.

Give your eyes time to adjust to the darkness; you won’t see anything right away

find a place away from the glare of the lights; the darker the better.

Get comfortable; a banana lounge can be useful.

And then sit down and be patient.

“Meteors don’t move like clockwork,” says Dr. Musgrave.

“You’ll see nothing for a while, then a couple of small bursts and then nothing for a while.

“Be patient and this year you should be rewarded with some really nice meteorites.”

That, of course, if the weather is good.