Geminds-Best Meteor Shower of the Year: Results

MeteorWayne · Dec 8, 2006

The GEMINIDS The best meteor shower of the year reaches it's peak Thursday morning Dec 14. (Night of the 13/14) Since the years of the Leonid meteor storms have passed, and the Perseids have continued to diminish since the late 90's, this is now the richest and most reliable meteor shower of the year. The ZHR (Zenithal Hourly Rate) of 120 per hour is matched only by the Quadrantids in January (more on that in a few weeks), a much more difficult target. The radiant (where the meteors appear to come from) is near Castor, one of the bright twin stars in Gemini (hence the name of the shower.) It rises shortly after sunset, and reaches it's highest elevation after 2AM. So, unlike so many other showers, while rates are lower in the evening, at least you can see some. These meteors impact the atmosphere at only 35 km/sec (22 miles/sec) unlike other well known showers such as the Perseids, Orionids, and Leonids (59, 66, and 71 km/sec respectively). That's because, unlike these other showers, they are in prograde orbits, travelling around the sun in the same direction as the earth. So, they're catching up to us from behind, rather than smacking us head on. In addition, they are denser than most other meteoroids. See Geminid Gems for an explanation. So it's a different show than any of the others. IF the Geminids perform as expected, here are some hourly rates you might expect: These are calculated using historical ZHR's, using very dark skies (dimmest stars visible Mag 6), and considering that the moon will wash out fainter meteors after midnight on the first two nights. This is for the US. If anyone would like information for other places, give me your location and I'll explain the differences. Nite refers to before midnight, AM after midnight. Mon Nite/ Tue AM ... 12 - /> 12/Hr Tue Nite/ Wed AM ... 20 - /> 25/Hr Wed Nite/Thu AM ... 30 - /> 60+/Hr (Peak at 5:45 AM EST) {1045 UT} Thur <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>

markj_87 · Dec 10, 2006

I'm looking forward to this. My first attempt at viewing this shower was last year, but the full moon didn't set until 5am and I only caught a few meteors. Should be a much better prospect this year.

astrophoto · Dec 12, 2006

My 4 year old and I went out last night for about 30 minutes, around 7:30pm in Arizona and saw 2 good ones. I also saw 2 dimmer ones that she missed. We're definitely going back out again tonight and tomorrow night.

MeteorWayne · Dec 12, 2006

It's most likely that at 7:30 PM they were not Geminid meteors, although it is possible. At that time the radiant has just cleared the ENE horizon. and you would expect to see only 1 or 2 per hour. They would appear to be rising up from the ENE horizon, and probably have very long paths. More likely they were sporadic meteors. Here is a map locating the radiant . Gemini is on the left and the radiant is near Castor, the upper of the two bright stars along the left edge of the image. Geminid meteor paths, if projected backwards will pass through this point. <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>

astrophoto · Dec 12, 2006

Castor was just peeking up on the horizon (we have nice views of the horizons out here) and it was already pretty dark in my area at 7:30 -- I am well outside of town. The 4 I saw all came from the ENE direction, though not straight from the horizon, about 12-15 degrees above.

MeteorWayne · Dec 12, 2006

Well if they were coming from the radiant, they may well be Geminids. If so, the implied ZHR would be 3X normal, so that is significant, although with such few numbers it's hard to say. Could you take some standardized observations? It would add much value to what you are seeing. See NAMN observing website Good for beginners <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> 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>

MeteorWayne · Dec 13, 2006

The International Meteor Organization will be creating on-the-fly analysis of data of the Geminids here MeteorWayne <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 13, 2006

Results are starting to roll in at the link above. Here in NJ, 2 days ago it looked like tonight was hopeless, but the forecast has dramatically improved. Fingers and toes crossed ! <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>

robnissen · Dec 13, 2006

You might even get amazingly lucky and also see an aurora in N.J.!!! I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping against hope, that maybe an aurora will make it to DC.

MeteorWayne · Dec 13, 2006

Solar conditions are rather tranquil tonight, so don't expect any auroral activity tonight. We've had a few good ones in the last 5 years, at least one of which was clearly visible almost to the Gulf of Mexico <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>

markj_87 · Dec 14, 2006

I saw absolutely nothing last night - cloud and rain all night, which is a shame because apparently it was a good year. It's crystal clear now (16:07) so maybe I can catch some stragglers tonight.

MeteorWayne · Dec 14, 2006

Skunked here in NJ as well. So far no results from peak time in USA at IMO link above, but should be coming in during the next few hours. Highest pre peak ZHR from europe is just under 100. <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>

cadd50 · Dec 14, 2006

Location: Central Kentucky, USA. My wife & I witnessed more than 60 per hour last night. Several were very bright and slow. Colors were very noticeable as well. We live out in the sticks as they say here, so light pollution was minimal. Couldn't have asked for better conditions to watch the shower, skies were crystal clear & temps were in the upper 40's. Sad to say I wasn''t able to capture any images with my camera, I don't have a cable release. This was my first time in over 40 years of amateur astronomy that the weather permitted viewing a shower worth watching. This also was my wife's first time to witness a meteor shower, having lived in Philadelphia her entire life. So it was a special treat for her to see the Geminids. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

MeteorWayne · Dec 14, 2006

I'm jealous, but happy for you. Like I said, for the forseeable future it's the best of the year. <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>

Mee_n_Mac · Dec 14, 2006

Same here in northern MA. Rain and fog precluded seeing anyhting in the earlier PM. By 11 pm it had cleared somewhat, stars could be seen. I did see a few bright meteors but with the fog and light pollution I didn't see any reason to bring out the dSLR. Hopefully there will be some aurora tonight to make up for it ! <img src="/images/icons/cool.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> -----------------------------------------------------Ask not what your Forum Software can do do on you,Ask it to, please for the love of all that's Holy, STOP ! </div>

markj_87 · Dec 14, 2006

Well it's 18:47 and the skies are still relatively clear - I might get a decent show tonight. And this site: http://www.sec.noaa.gov/rt_plots/kp_3d.html shows the K-index to be 7+, so it's not impossible to get meteors and auroras from my fairly northern location!

MeteorWayne · Dec 14, 2006

Where are you? <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>

markj_87 · Dec 14, 2006

I'm in the north of the UK, but it doesn't matter now anyway - the clouds and rain have rolled in and this years geminid shower will be a washout for me. Last year I had perfect weather but a full moon, this year I have a good moon but poor weather. Shame.

3488 · Dec 15, 2006

It was very mild, dry, but very cloudy here in Ashford, Kent, UK, so did not see a thing either. A shame. 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>

oscar1 · Dec 15, 2006

This morning it was crystal clear here in Slovakia (in a village where there is hardly any light pollution) at 00H30 CET, but unfortunately I saw nothing to rave about.

MeteorWayne · Dec 15, 2006

I am so pissed. Last night there were thin cirrus clouds, so I waited them out. Just after midnight, it started to clear off, so I got ready to start recording data. At 0027 EST I did my pre start intro into the tape recorder for a 00:30 start time. Then it started to fog over. By 00:33 I could still see some stars, but couldn't see across the parking lot at the observatory. By 00:40 the stars were gone. I packed up and left at 00:50...I had to stop the car, get out and walk twenty feet to see that I was heading toward the exit....it took me 20 minutes to drive the 1 mile home. sigh Maybe tonight it will be clear toward morning, when rates are maybe 10 an hour. sigh Maudlin 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>

markj_87 · Dec 15, 2006

I guess this is the problem with the Geminids. You can't rely on the weather in mid-December. EDIT- This confirms what I was thinking: http://www.sec.noaa.gov/rt_plots/kp_3d.html I'm pretty sure auroras would have been visible here last night, with a constant K-index of 7-8. Big shame the weather was so poor.

astrophoto · Dec 15, 2006

Phoenix, AZ: 12/11: Saw 4 total, between the hours of 7:30pm and 8:30pm. 2 Bright, 2 dim. Also saw 2 unrelated meteors. 12/12: Thin cloud cover, did not view 12/13: Wow, started viewing around 7:45pm, ended around 11pm. Lost count after 30. Would estimate saw 50-100 overall. Around 9pm they started coming one after another, many colors and speeds. 12/14: Did not really view, but happened to notice a slow meteor very close to the horizon around 8pm in the ENE direction. This one appeared to break up as it came in into 4 pieces, slight green color. I love Arizona!

MeteorWayne · Dec 16, 2006

Well, the Geminid show is pretty much over. A cold front finally came through after midnight so I watched for 2.7 hours early this morning. Sky wasn't super dark, but acceptable. 45th hour past peak 2 per hour 46th hour past peak 2 per hour 47th hour past peak Zero, nil, zip, nada, none, squadoosh. In the 2.7 hours also spotted 3 Monoceratids, 2 Coma Bernicids and 9 sporadics, including a magnitude -2 with a 3 second train. I also observed 3 satellites, one flashing with about a 7 second period, and two other steady ones, none of which were listed on the Heavens-above site <img src="/images/icons/frown.gif" /> Latest Geminid results from IMO here Meteor Wayne edited to add satellite info <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>

spacester · Dec 16, 2006

Well all we had here in Oregon was a rainy windstorm that knocked out power for more than 100000 customers, and a 36-hour outage for me. So viewing conditions were less than ideal <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> <img src="/images/icons/frown.gif" /> But the storm is over and it may be clear tonight. Any chance of catching the last stragglers? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

Geminds-Best Meteor Shower of the Year: Results

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