Will you stay up tonight to watch the meteor shower? From December 12, as one of the most anticipated meteor showers every year, the Geminid meteor shower in 2018 has been launched and will last until December 17. It is worth mentioning that this year's Geminid meteor shower will reach its climax on the evening of December 14, with a peak hourly zenith flow of about 120.
Zhao Zhiheng, an astronomy education expert and director of Tianjin astronomical society, said: 'the Geminid meteor shower has white color, slow flow speed, and many meteors. It lasts 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.
Maximum time
The maximum time of Geminid meteor shower in 2018 will appear at 20:00 on December 14, with a peak flow of 120 meteors per hour.
In the evening of December 13-14, 2018, the Geminid meteor shower, the Gemini constellation castor and Pollux will send out brilliant light. The Geminid meteor shower is one of the best meteor showers in the northern or southern hemisphere. Meteors are quite abundant, comparable to the immortals in August. They are often bold, gorgeous and bright. In the dark, you usually catch 50 or more meteors an hour. In the early morning after midnight, the number of meteors is the largest, concentrated around 2 a.m. local time.
Geminid meteor showers will reach more than one per minute and up to 100 per hour. The best time to watch the Geminid meteor shower is around 2 a.m. local time. The moon is the first quarter moon. It will set around midnight. This year, there will be no moonlight interfering with the Gemini meteor shower. '
Geminid meteor shower belongs to medium speed meteor, which is slow, bright, lasting for a long time, and has many firestars. It is suitable for both visual and shooting.
In addition to the Geminid meteor shower, astronomers can also enjoy the extra benefits. On the night of December 16, the brightest comet of the year, 46p / wirtanen, will appear in the night sky. The Geminid meteor shower in 2018 is in the first quarter of the month. When the meteor shower reaches its peak at midnight, the moon has already set.
What are the precautions for watching meteor shower?
1. When observing meteor showers, please put safety first, which includes traffic safety and observation safety. It is better to arrive at the observation point in the daytime. When observing at the observation point at a high place, you must pay attention to the safety of your feet.
2. The weather is also cold recently, and the outdoor temperature is relatively low. It is suggested that the friends who need to go to the observation should pay attention to the thermal insulation measures, take thick clothes, or directly take a quilt and wrap it on their body.
3. When choosing observation points, try to choose places far away from the city's light pollution and places with high altitude, so as to enjoy the most beautiful scenery.
I hope you can see the Geminid meteor shower on December 14.
How to watch meteor shower
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.
How to watch this romantic meteor shower? Astronomy experts remind that, in addition to the sunny weather, you should choose a place with small light impact. The observation site should be open around without mountains or buildings, but you should keep warm and pay attention to safety during observation.
Seven meteor showers in the world:
1. Leonid meteor shower (every November 14-21)
2. Geminid meteor shower (about December 13-14 every year)
3. Perseid meteor shower (July 17 to August 24)
4. Orionid meteor shower (around October 20 every year)
5. Taurus meteor shower (from October 25 to November 25 every year)
6. Tianlonga meteor shower (from October 6 to 10 every year)
7. Lyra meteor shower (from April 19 to 23 every year)