2007 Geminid Meteor Shower

MeteorWayne · Dec 3, 2007

What should be the best shower of the year occurs this month. Unlike most other major showers that are best observed during the predawn hours, the Geminid radiant rises before dark in the Northern Hemisphere and reaches it's highest elevation in the south around 2 AM local time. With the long winter nights, you can easily see many hundreds of meteors in one night. It also can be observed from the Southern Hemisphere, although the radiant rises later. The moon will provide little interference this year, setting before 9PM north of 45 degrees N, and later the further south you are. The Geminids are the debris from what is now asteroid 3200 Phaethon, which is a de-iced comet nucleus. The perihelion is only 0.14 AU (21 million km, or 13 million miles), well inside Mercury's orbit. The resultant heating has eliminated all the gas producing ices, and in fact is enough to sinter the surface of the asteroid as well as the Geminid meteoroids. The Geminids are active from the 1st to the 20th, with the peak expected this year at 1645 UT on the 14th (11:45 AM EST, 8:45 AM PST), with a dip in rates afterward, then a second lower peak about 3 hours later. Since most showers (and the Geminids are no exception) have rates that slowly rise, then fall off more rapidly after the peak, if you have only one night to observe, the best would seem the be the night/morning of December 13/14, although the nights before and after should provide a nice show as well. These are fairly slow meteors (about 35 km/sec) and tend to have a different color than most other showers, since the slower speed doesn't cause as much emission from nitrogen and oxygen in the atmosphere. Another item of note is that model projections of the evolution of the meteoroids by J. Jones, and R.L. Hawkes suggest that Geminid rates will increase for the next few decades, rising from the current 120 an hour to around 190 per hour by 2050 before beginning to decline. <</safety_wrapper> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

MeteorWayne · Dec 3, 2007

To see predictions of activity for your area, you can use the "Fluxtimator" here from NASA. Be sure to select the correct shower (4 Gemini), nearby city, sky conditions where you observe, and observing night. Remember, the peak should be the night of the 13/14 of Decmber. MW <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

3488 · Dec 3, 2007

It would be fantastic to send a probe to 3200 Pheathon IMO. Thought I would say something about the Peculiar object behind the Geminid Meteor Shower (hope MeteorWayne does not object). 3200 Pheathon is undoubtably a burnt out comet, that regularly passes very close to the Sun, 0.14 AU @ Perihelion & thought to be a B / C Type asteroid (Very Carbon Rich), also in keeping with the theory of it being an ex comet. It is barely 5 KM / 3 miles wide & takes approx 524 days to orbit the Sun, in a very elliptical orbit with an Aphelion of 2.4 AU (within the Asteroid Belt). At Perihelion, the surface temperature may approach 1,000 Celsius / 1,273 Kelvin, & so must glow a dull Red around Perihelion, with some partial melting. At Aphelion, even with its dark surface, the temperature remains well below freezing. On Monday 14th December 2093, asteroid 3200 Pheathon will pass only 5.0 million km from Earth. Before the discovery of 3200 Phaethon (1983 TB) with the IRAS space observatory, the asteroid 1566 Icarus had the closest known Perihelion of a known natural object. BTW I will also be looking out for this remarkable shower, weather permitting of course. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

MeteorWayne · Dec 10, 2007

As we approach the Geminids peak this week, the International Meteor Organization's On-the-Fly graph is up and running. Observations are sparse so far. If the weather along the US east coast doesn't change substantially, I copuld get completely skunked this year <img src="/images/icons/frown.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

kevink · Dec 10, 2007

I plan on heading out to the Anza-Borrego desert on Friday night (the 14th). I now realize that the peak is going to be on Thursday night/Friday morning. I canâ€™t go out then due to having to work on Friday. Can I still expect a good show on Friday night/Saturday morning?

MeteorWayne · Dec 10, 2007

Yes as I said, the nights before and after the peak should be pretty good....maybe 60 an hour? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

kevink · Dec 11, 2007

Thanks. I was at work and had to discretely speed read your initial post - hence I missed the part about the show still being good the next night.

MeteorWayne · Dec 12, 2007

{bump} as we approach the peak. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

MeteorWayne · Dec 12, 2007

I've noticed some confusion about the best way to observe meteor showers, so I thought I'd post a brief primer. Geminid meteors can appear anywhere in the sky, so using a telescope or binoculars is counterproductive. If you do that you are looking at less that 1% of your total field of view, hence you will see less than 1% of the visible brightness meteors (brighter than about magnitude +5). You will gain some fainter ones (you might see down to mag +8 or dimmer with a scope or binocs) but it won't make up for what you would miss. Especially with the Geminids, since the radiant is very neary overhead by midnight, the best strategy is to face whatever direction is the darkest in your local sky. If it is equally dark in all directions, then you want to face 30 to 40 degrees on either side of the Geminid radiant. Remember, that is near the higher of the bright stars in Gemini, to the left of Mars (this is correct for the northern hemisphere. Ideally, the center of your field of view would be to face about 60 degrees above the horizon. The easiest way to accomplish that is with a lawn chair or similar device, where you can lay down so your head faces that height. You can also lay on a sleeping bag on the ground, and prop your upper back and head up with pillows, but I find that uncomfortable. A chair that lets you lean back some is an acceptable substitute, but since you will be looking closer to the ground, you will miss a few more. 6 other meteor showers are also active with low levels (~1-3 an hour each) these nights. Plus sporadics can come from anywhere. (~3-7 per hour after midnight) The most important thing, especially at this time of year is to KEEP WARM. You will be lying still for quite a while. Overdress with layers so if you are too warm you can shed some. If it's below 40 degrees F (5C) gloves and a hat might help a lot. If anyone has any other questions, feel free to pos <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

votefornimitz · Dec 12, 2007

I wouldn't worry about the snowstorm, weathermen are wrong more often than not <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" />.... <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> In the event of a full scale nuclear war or NEO impact event, there are two categories of underground shelters available to the public, distinguished by depth underground: bunkers and graves... </div>

MeteorWayne · Dec 12, 2007

Not this time. Meteorology is my other major hobby, after meteorics. It's grim for tomorrow. I might get an hour or two this evening under lousy conditions, which I will take..... <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

hjb19465 · Dec 13, 2007

I'm new to the message board and a very amateur backyard astronomer NW of Atlanta. I've posted a couple other places about this tonight, so why not throw it in here as well? While watching for Giminids tonight about 9:30pm (Eastern) I observed fireball that was very green in color. Doing some research later, I found much interesting info about green fireballs. Just wondered if anyone else might have any comments about this.

deapfreeze · Dec 13, 2007

I hope the bad weather goes around me or somewhere else. I was looking forward to being out for this one... <img src="/images/icons/frown.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> William ( deapfreeze ) Hooperhttp://deapfreeze-amateur-astronomy.tk/ </div>

MeteorWayne · Dec 13, 2007

hjb19465 Since you posted this in so many places, please read the PM I sent to you. (Click on the flashing red envelope next to "Main Index") I suggest a fireball report form. Meteor Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

h2ouniverse · Dec 13, 2007

could spot only 3 in 10 minutes (2 ones quite bright though).

kevink · Dec 14, 2007

I only saw a few meteors Thursday night / Friday morning here in the suburbs of San Diego. I'm really hoping that I'll see more of a show out in the desert tonight - far away from city lights - even though the peak is over.

MeteorWayne · Dec 14, 2007

Well I had one lousy morning the night before the peak; only 8 Geminids in 1.20 hours under marginal conditions (LM ~ +5). Clouds took away the rest. At least I saw a few. I might get a very cold hour or two this morning (18 F). One can only hope. So far the IMO on the fly quicklook shows a peak ZHR ~105 around 2228 UT on the 13th. Plenty of more data to come in..... <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

deapfreeze · Dec 15, 2007

I haven't been able to see anything to much cloud cover <img src="/images/icons/frown.gif" /> Maybe next shower will be better for me. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> William ( deapfreeze ) Hooperhttp://deapfreeze-amateur-astronomy.tk/ </div>

markj_87 · Dec 16, 2007

We had perfect clear skies all week which gave great viewing conditions - and temperatures of -4 degrees. I like meteor showers but I'm not that committed. ;-) I caught a couple of faint ones from the doorstep but pretty much wrote this one off because hypothermia doesn't appeal to me.

kevink · Dec 16, 2007

The wife and I camped out in the Anza-Borrego desert on Friday night through Saturday afternoon. Nice 100% clear and dark skies out there. It got quite chilly at night, though, and we both ended up with pre-frostbite on our hands and faces. Though it was one day past the peak, we saw slightly MORE meteors due to there being MUCH less light pollution out there. Still, this show was nowhere near as exciting as the awesome Leonids a few years back.

MeteorWayne · Dec 16, 2007

The Leonids produced meteor Storms, not mere showers <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> They were wonderful years. We'll miss them. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

MeteorWayne · Dec 22, 2007

Looks like the Geminids had a good year with peak rates > 150/Hr. See IMO on the fly links above. Just for fun, have a look at the orbit viewer for the parent object 3200 Phaethon here Notice the speed difference as it travels it's highly eccentric orbit with perihelion well inside Mercury's orbit. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

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