The Geminids

We have beautiful weather at the moment, with spectacular sunrises and sunsets but not, as yet, a hard frost at night. That the sky is so clear is good news as the night of 13th/14th December sees the peak of the Geminid meteor shower, potentially one of the most spectacular astronomical events of the year.

It's called the 'Geminids' because the shooting stars radiate out from the constellation Gemini, the Twins, Castor and Pollux. To find Gemini, locate the red giant star Betelgeuse in Orion and move to the east: Castor and Pollux are two bright stars one almost above the other. If they can't be found, it doesn't matter too much as, in a good event, the shooting stars fly all over the place.

There's a website with more detailed information here. Many thanks to Navicore on Flickr for allowing use of the photo through Creative Commons.

JH