The Press Stories
If you are a fan Star view, You’re coming to the party this weekend because ‘Best Meteor Shower of the Year’ is at its peak.
The Gemini meteor shower occurs every December as the earth plows through a large path of dusty debris spilled by 3200 pythons.
At its peak, there may be up to one or two meteors per hour, so you will find one.
The best part about Geminites is that you can see it with the naked eye, so you don’t need an expensive telescope or camera to enjoy it.
Terry Mosley of the Irish Astronomical Society, who spoke with Belfast Live, revealed the best time to see a shooting star this weekend.
He said: “This is the richest and best meteor shower of the year, i.e. there are more meteors per hour than any other rain.
“The other good thing about this particular show is that you get more hours of darkness than any other time of the year.
“Anyone can see them from 9pm until dawn the next day.”
Terry said people should be properly prepared if they plan to spend their Saturday and Sunday nights outside.
“It’s going to be very cold at this time of year, so if you do not notice, you need to keep warm and cover yourself against the elements.”
“If the sky is clear, meteors will appear from the eastern point just before moving towards the early morning.
“But it doesn’t matter where you choose to look, because they happen so often, you can easily find something that usually comes out of the Gemini constellation.
“People should keep their eyes on the clear and dark area near them.
“The best thing people can do if they want to see the meteor with a better view is to move away from a big city or town. Go away from the street lights and go somewhere dark.”
The event is the most reliable annual meteor shower of the year, according to the US space agency NASA.
They said: “Geminites produce a good number of meteors most of the year, but this year they have been made even better because the peak of the rains coincides with the new moon (thus creating dark skies, meteors that interfere with dizziness without moonlight.)
“Gemini peaks from the morning of December 13th to the 14th, with some meteor activity before and after. It’s good to see the Northern Hemisphere overnight, local time operating at 2am, and visitors to the Southern Hemisphere after midnight.
For the best view, find a safe place away from bright city lights, head south with your feet flat on the ground and look up.
“Meteors can appear in any part of the sky, however they do appear to radiate from near the Gemini galaxy. So we want you here to clear the sky to catch some shooting stars.”
If you miss Geminids, you get another chance to see the shooting stars in December, thanks to the Urcitz meteor shower.
The rain will peak on the evening of December 21, with 5-10 meteors at that time.
