Considered to be one of the best and most reliable annual meteor showers, the Geminids, which peaks during mid-December each year, is set to light up the sky tonight in India and other parts of the world.
Originating from the 3200 Phaethon, they come from Constellation Gemini and usually between December 1 and December 21. The showers are expected to be most visible overnight between December 13 and December 14 this year.
The showers can deliver well over 100 meteors per hour in dark and clear sky conditions, thus making it a very reliable celestial event.
According to the American Meteor Society (AMS), the skywatchers can spot as many as 150 meteors an hour as earth passes through the densest part of the debris stream.
What is the best time to watch the meteor shower in India?
The best time to watch the Geminids in India is between 2 am and 4 am IST early on December 14, according to a report by The Indian Express.
The meteor shower this year will be active between December 1, 2025 and December 21, 2025, peaking on December 14. Under dark skies, skywatchers can expect 40 to 50 meteors per hour, according to NASA. The meteor velocity is usually 21 miles (33.8 kilometers) per second.
Tips to view the Geminids
The Geminids can be best viewed during night and till pre-dawn. They are visible across the globe due to a nearly 24-hour broad maximum, according to NASA.
The showers usually start around 9 or 10 pm at night, thus also making it one of the best opportunities for young skywatchers. To watch the Geminids in ideal viewing conditions, skywatchers can try to find an area away from the city and street lights.
They should “take in as much of the sky as possible”, NASA says, so that their eyes adapt, following which the meteors will become visible to the naked eye.
The Virtual Telescope Project will also be livestreaming the Geminid meteor shower from its observatory in Italy.
Why are the Geminids unique?
Most meteor showers originate from comets,. However, the the Geminids originate the 3200 Phaethon. While the Phaethon has been called an asteroid and takes 1.4 years to orbit the Sun once, there are contradictions in its nature, which make it difficult to determine whether it is a ‘rock comet’ or asteroid.
There is a possibility that the Phaethon is a “dead comet” or a new kind of object, which astronomers refer to as a “rock comet”. The hypothesis is corroborated by Phaethon’s comet-like highly elliptical orbit around the Sun.
However, scientists have also said that when Phaethon passes by the Sun, it does not develop a cometary tail and its spectra looks like a rocky asteroid. In addition to this, the bits and pieces which break off from the Geminids are several times denser than cometary dust flakes.
The Geminids appear to come from ‘the radiant’ or the constellation Gemini. The constellation is also responsible for the name of the meteor shower – Geminids.
