MOSCOW, December 6 (Sputnik) – Stargazers get ready for the most spectacular event of the year.
This weekend kicks off a 10-day-long astronomical show, the Geminids meteor shower. It takes place every December as the Earth passes through the debris trail of a Palladian asteroid called 3200 Phaethon.
The 5 km wide asteroid has unusual characteristics in that its orbit looks more like that of a comet than an asteroid; it has been referred to as a "rock comet".
As the bits of debris from the asteroid crash through the Earth’s upper atmosphere they vaporize, yielding the colorful Geminid meteor shower.
The Geminids, together with the Quadrantids (a January meteor shower), are the only major meteor showers that aren’t the result of a comet.
The peak of the shower is usually around December 13-14, with the date of highest intensity being the morning of December 14.
The shower is thought to be intensifying every year and recent showers have seen 120–160 shooting stars per hour under optimal conditions, generally around 02:00 to 03:00 am local time.
The event got its name because it comes from a part of the sky associated with the constellation Gemini.
Although the phenomenon was first observed in 1862, 3200 Phaethon was only discovered in 1983.
