Geminid meteor shower is at best for most of the Asia countries on the upcoming 14-15 December. Attention, no equipment is needed for watching meteor shower.
When, where, how and why to look?
At this time, Gemind meteor shower peaks at 17h UT on 14 Dec which is 1h UT+8 for us in southeast Asia. So, it peaks on 15 Dec. For Americans, it peaks on 14 December. DON’T only watch the shower when it’s on peak, you’ll miss some of the spectacular views. We’re advised to start to watch the shower one or two days before the peak. For me, I will start on 13 Dec.
If you care about the night sky, the reddish orange colour “star” at the east may have caught your attention. It’s the Mars. The radiant point of Geminids locates near to it, so you can just aim at Mars. Make sure you try you best to widen your field of view. This can ensure that you don’t miss out some stunning meteors. Lie down and watch. If you have telescope, set it up and observe the Mars too!
Why is geminid stunning for us this time? For southeast Asians, the Gemini is still quite low on the sky when the shower is on peak. However, since it’s still rising, Gemini will be at the zenith when the sun is about to rise. At this time, we can usually catch more meteors as we are facing the coming meteors. Other than the good position of the radiant point, our lovely moon gives us a pre-christmas gift. The waning crescent moon sets early so you get the best show of the year. No moonlight will disturb us, thus let us see fainter meteors
What we have to worry about now is the monsoon season. It’s raining non-stop for almost a week.
If you have successfully seen some meteors, you can report your result to International Meteor Organisation
A little fact of Geminids, copied from Sky and Telescope,
The final factor is the shower’s inherent strength: the number of meteoroids hitting Earth as a whole, regardless of your own local circumstances. Some showers stretch over many days or even weeks, but the Geminids have a very sharp peak. The curve is also strikingly asymmetric. It takes two days for the rate to climb from one-fifth of the maximum to full strength, but less than one day to drop back to the same level.
