“The Geminids are expected to peak just before dawn on Dec. 14, with a predicted peak rate of 100 to 120 meteors per hour,” reports NASA. Unlike most other meteor showers, the Geminids are not associated with a comet but rather the asteroid, 3200 Phaethon, which is thought to be a Palladian asteroid with a “rock comet” orbit. This would make the Geminids, together with the Quadrantids, the only major meteor showers not originating from a comet. The asteroid takes about 1.4 years to orbit around the Sun. (Credit: Wikipedia, Earth Sky, NASA)
Listen to Live Meteor Radar Echoes: http://topaz.streamguys.tv/~spaceweather/
Watch the Ustream feed from a telescope at Marshall Space Flight Center:
The Marshall Space Flight Center will host an overnight NASA web chat on Dec. 13 from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. CST. Join the chat at: http://www.nasa.gov/connect/chat/geminids_2014.html
The Geminids are considered to be one of the more spectacular meteor showers of the year!
