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Updated December 13th, 2018 at 11:01 IST

Geminid meteor shower to light up the sky tonight. Timings in India, visibility, how to watch and more

The Geminid Meteor Shower 2018 will light up the sky on the night of December 13.

Reported by: Daamini Sharma
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The stunning Geminid meteor shower is about to rip across the sky. The Geminid Meteor Shower 2018 will light up the sky on the night of December 13 and 14. The spectacular showers are brought to the Earth’s atmosphere every December by an asteroid called Phaethon, a satellite data discovered 35 years ago.

Nasa says "It is one of the best and most reliable of the annual meteor showers". 

What are the Geminid meteors?

If you go outside and watch, you’ll be seeing bits of debris from an asteroid named 3200 Phaethon burn up in the night sky. The asteroid named after Greek God Apollo’s son, 3200 Phaethon’s orbit brings it closer to our sun than Mercury. The asteroid is small — just 3 miles wide — and rocky. Since the 1800s, with every passing year, the escalation of yellowish streaks of light in the night-sky have only grown intense.A

At What time?

The best times to see it are on Thursday and Friday night, when it reaches its peak.The very best time to watch, Sky and Telescope magazine reports, will be right before dawn on Friday, December 14. That’s the peak of the peak.

However, according to NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke,"The best time to view the Gemini’s is around 2am local time. The moon will be first quarter, so it will set around midnight; there will be no moonlight to interfere with the Gemini’s this year.”

Where in India? 

Those in the Northern Hemisphere will see the highest number of Gemini rates so Indians will have a good view of the celestial spectacle. The best place to view the shower is from a less polluted area away from the cities. Allow some time for your eyes to adjust to the darkness, and you may catch a meteor every other minute or so.

HEAR: First Ever Sound Of Martian Winds Captured By NASA's Interior Exploration

Meanwhile, Google Doodle on Thursday also marked the relevance of an asteroid, which brings the most spectacular meteor shower every year. Take a look at the tribute by Google doodle:

 

 

 

 

 

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Published December 13th, 2018 at 11:01 IST

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