The Geminid meteor shower will reach its peak late Friday night into early Saturday morning, which can produce in excess of 100 of the shooting stars per hour during peak conditions. Photo courtesy of NASA
The Geminid meteor shower will reach its peak late Friday night into early Saturday morning, which can produce in excess of 100 of the shooting stars per hour during peak conditions.
However, this year’s edition of the annual event will take place under a nearly full moon, which could make fainter meteors harder to identify with the naked eye. Advertisement
“The Geminids meteor shower, which peaks during mid-December each year, is considered to be one of the best and most reliable annual meteor showers,” according to NASA.
“During its peak, 120 Geminid meteors can be seen per hour under perfect conditions. The Geminids are bright and fast meteors and tend to be yellow in color.”
Last year’s version of the mid-December event appeared under near-ideal conditions with a dark sky.
On average, stargazers can expect to see around 100 meteors per hour under normal conditions.
The full moon may cut the number of visible meteors to around 15,
“In short, 2024 is a bad year for Geminid watching — December 2025 will be much better,” NASA Meteoroid Environment Office lead Bill Cooke told CBS News in an interview. Advertisement
Even so, Geminid meteors are known for their brightness and the strongest will still be visible.
Viewers will be able to start seeing the Geminids in the sky between 9 and 10 p.m., with peak viewing taking place in the early pre-dawn hours of Saturday morning.
In general, meteors are made up from debris particles remaining from comets or larger asteroids, according to a NASA definition. They leave a dust trail that the Earth then passes through every year. The particles then create the light show we see as they collide and disintegrate in our atmosphere.
The larger Taurid meteor shower hit its peak in mid-November in two separate waves, one of which was also partially hindered by full moon conditions.
