According to the Portuguese and Chinese daily, today (December 12), as one of the most anticipated meteor showers every year, the Geminid meteor shower in 2018 has appeared and will last until December 17. It is worth mentioning that this year's Geminid meteor shower will reach its climax on December 14, with a peak hourly zenith flow of about 120.
People can wait patiently for the meteor shower to appear, but don't just stare at the direction of Gemini, because there will be a light yellow meteor shower on the horizon after sunset in the northern hemisphere.
At that time, if the weather is fine and facing the northeast of the sky, the Chinese public can watch the beautiful scene of bright firestars' blooming 'in the night sky with the naked eye. Among them, 1:00 am in the northern hemisphere is the best viewing time.
According to the report, Zhao Zhiheng, an astronomy education expert and director of Tianjin astronomical society, said: 'Geminid meteor shower is white, slow in flow speed, and has many meteors, which last a long time and is suitable for both visual and shooting. December 14 is the eighth day of the lunar calendar. The moon is close to the top chord. It falls at about 22:30. When the meteor shower reaches its peak at midnight, the moon has already set. Therefore, you can enjoy it in the wild far away from the light interference as long as it is in the clear midnight. In addition, the higher the terrain, the more suitable for viewing the Geminid meteor shower. Until the early morning of the 15th, it was a good time to watch and shoot. '
The data shows that the Geminid meteor shower refers to the meteor shower caused by the faetone asteroid (3200 Phaeton). Every year, the faetone asteroid passes through the vicinity of the earth. The debris falling from the planet due to the influence of the earth's gravity will fall into the earth's atmosphere, and then it will be pneumatically heated and burned to form one meteor after another. It happens that the meteor shower brought by fayton asteroid spreads out with Gemini as the radiation point, so it is called Gemini meteor shower.
Geminid meteor shower, quadrant meteor shower and Perseid meteor shower are the three major meteor showers in the northern hemisphere. Compared with Perseids and Leonids, Geminids are relatively young. They only appeared in the middle of the 19th century. At the beginning, the flow of Geminids was small, between 10 and 20 per hour. Since then, its flow began to increase, and now it has become one of the meteor showers with large annual flow.
It is reported that this year's Geminid meteor shower is rich in colors, such as red, yellow, blue and green. Due to the influence of moonlight on the night of the 14th, the time of watching the Geminid meteor shower around the country was appropriately delayed compared with the same period of the year. The best observation time in China is from Friday 23 to the next day before dawn. Citizens should choose to observe in an environment with wide field of vision, no light and being able to see the fourth class stars, and pay attention to keeping warm and cold.
Geminid meteor shower can be viewed by naked eye only, and it does not need astronomical telescope. This year's observation of the Geminid meteor shower has another feature. In the early morning, the golden star (Venus) will accompany you to watch the Geminid meteor shower that cuts through the night sky.