Astronomical Forecast | December 14 The Astronomical "Lunar New Year Blockbuster" Gemini Meteor Shower was staged on time

Around 15:00 on December 14, the Gemini meteor shower maximum will occur, and the zenith per hour (ZHR) rate can reach 150.

As the "New Year blockbuster" in the celestial phenomenon, the Gemini meteor shower is usually one of the most anticipated celestial signs of the year, and it is also the last of the three major meteor showers in the northern sky. Its flow rate is very stable, and under ideal observation conditions, the number of theoretical zenith meteors per hour will be more than a hundred.

According to the International Meteor Organization forecast, the 2021 Gemini meteor shower maximum is expected to occur at about 15:00 Beijing time on December 14, and the zenith per hour (ZHR) rate can reach 150. Depending on the actual observation area and observation time, the actual number of meteors observed will also vary according to the influence of weather, surrounding building obstruction, surrounding lights, vision, etc.

Meteor showers do not require the aid of equipment such as telescopes, the naked eye is the best choice, and meteors may appear in any direction of the sky. If we take a shot of the Gemini meteor shower with a wide-angle camera, when we superimpose these photos of the meteors together, we will find that these meteors appear to originate from a point in the constellation Gemini near the α gemini, which we call the radiation point of the meteor shower. Usually, the constellation where the radiation point is located is named after this constellation. The Gemini meteor shower is slower than other large meteor showers and produces beautiful traces of light. The parent body of most meteor showers is a comet, with the exception of one, the Gemini meteor shower, which is the asteroid 3200 Fareton.

It is recommended that you watch on the evening of the 13th and 14th, but this time it coincides with the bright moon (77.55% bright), and the moonlight is brighter, which has a certain impact on observation. The moon sets at one or two o'clock in the night, and there is still plenty of time to see the fainter meteors. It is recommended that under the premise of ensuring their own safety, try to go to places with little light pollution to watch. The clearer the weather, the more open the viewing environment, and the darker the surroundings, the more meteors you have. In winter, the outdoor temperature is low, be sure to pay attention to keep warm, wish you a pleasant viewing, and may meteors bring good luck.

Introduction to the Presenter

Huijuan Wang, Ph.D., is a researcher of the Nebula Program of the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a master tutor of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is mainly engaged in the research of stellar physics, high-precision photometry and spectral detection methods.

Rotating Editor-in-Chief: Ran Li

Column planning: Wan Haoyi

Co-ordinator Producer: Yuan Fengfang

Video script: Wang Huijuan, Yuan Fengfang

Choreographer: Song Yajuan, Cai Lin

Camera: Xiao Chunfang

Post-editing: Bowen Zhang

Editors: Zhao Yuhao, Qiqi

China Association for Science and Technology National Astronomical Observatory Guangming Net

Co-produced

Video Footage Source:

Sky Guide

meteorshower.org

WIKI

Yuan Fengfang

National Astronomical Journal of China, November 2021

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