Gemini meteor shower peaked this week! How to watch the best meteor shower of the year

Kevin Lewis, an astrophotographer, used the photos taken in 20 15 12 14 in Anglesey Island, the northwest coast of Wales, to make this composite photo of Gemini meteor. Kevin lewis If it weren't for the American solar eclipse last summer, the most anticipated astronomical phenomena in 20 17 would almost certainly be the upcoming Gemini meteor shower.

The celestial fireworks display before Christmas will reach its climax in a long time, from Wednesday night (65438+February 13) to the dark time on Thursday morning (65438+February 14).

The moon will be a thin, waning new moon, and will not rise until Gemini reaches its peak before dawn. According to Alastair McBeath, a British meteor shower expert, this annual meteor shower is as reliable as the Perseid meteor shower in August, and now it is "one of the best meteor showers observed on earth at present". [Gemini Meteor Shower 20 17: When, Where and How to Observe]

You may not be too excited about the prospect of finding a meteor shower under the stars. After all, 65438+mid-February is a very cold night, so we should lie back and stare at the sky (at least for most of us in the northern hemisphere).

But please ask the most experienced meteor observers which meteor they prefer to see. Most people will walk with Gemini meteors, which are called "gems". In fact, many astronomical observers now think that these meteors are more powerful and satisfactory than the famous Perseid meteors. Gem is a rich meteor display, which is an obvious upward trend.

A good performance in prime time is that you don't have to wake up before dawn to get Gemini eyes; This is one of the few fairly good showers before midnight.

Most meteor showers are strongest before dawn, because that's when your earth is moving forward rapidly in planetary orbit, so your side passes through the meteor debris flow.

In other words, the radiation point or emission point of most meteor showers appears at the highest point in the sky before dawn. By contrast, Gemini's radiation layer-located near Gemini's bright star castle-was already a respectable 30 degrees in the eastern sky as early as 9: 00 p.m. (viewed from the north-central latitude). Reminder: The arm length of your clenched fist is approximately equal to 10 degree. )

As many as 100 to 120 Geminis can be seen every hour under the excellent dark sky when the radiation source is close to anywhere overhead-for example, until midnight. Remember, light pollution and high obstacles will significantly reduce the amount you see. When the radiation temperature rises by 30 degrees, it is expected to be about half-still about once per minute on average. [Photo: 20 15 Gemini meteor shower]

Generally speaking, according to your position, at the end of dusk, Caster began to appear above the northeast horizon. When Gemini begins to climb the eastern sky after nightfall, it is likely to see one or two "ground-wiping" meteors early on Wednesday night.

Grabbing meteors are long and bright meteors. They pass over the sky near the horizon, even at a point below the horizon. What makes these meteors so different is that they follow a very long path, almost parallel to our atmosphere. However, when Gemini climbs higher in the sky, these very long paths will become shorter.

The slow and elegant Gemini is slower and more elegant than most meteor showers. They usually form fast stripes in the sky.

Gemini fell into the earth's atmosphere at a speed of about 79,200 miles per hour (65,438+0,275,000 kilometers per hour). Compare Perseus133,200 mph (214,400 km/h), Orion147,600 mph (237,500 km/h) and Leo162,000 mph (260,700 km/h). Gemini's speed is slow, partly because there are no frontal impact particles on the earth-they come to Sid and enter the earth's orbit, partly because the particles themselves move around the sun relatively slowly, and the physical intensity and density of Gemini meteoroids are higher-four times higher than the density of typical comet dust sheets that supply most meteor showers-so they don't burn so fast.

20 17 will be an exception to KDSP this year. According to the meteor shower calendar of the International Meteor Organization (IMO), the observation conditions of Gemini are "almost the best". The moon on the 26th will be a slender new moon in Libra (13% is illuminated) and will not rise until around 3: 30am local time on Thursday. So for meteor watchers, moonlight is just a little trouble. In addition, Jupiter will approach the new moon and form a beautiful sky picture.

According to the prediction of the International Maritime Organization, this year's double peaks will appear at 0630 GMT 65438+February 14 (65438+ 0: 30 am EST), which is half an hour later than the prediction in the Observer Manual of the Royal Canadian Astronomical Society in 20 17. This means that Gemini will appear in the eastern sky when North Americans are most active. In fact, for people along the Atlantic coast, Gemini is almost the top of the head! The "KDSP" and "KDSP" tests of double peaks reliably observed in recent years show that the highest rate appears on both sides of the maximum prediction time of about 2.5 hours. The report also predicts that the highest interest rate will remain at a slightly lower level within 6 to 10 hours before and after the peak. So, on Wednesday February 13, draw a big red circle on your calendar. Throughout the night (local weather conditions permit), you will see many "meteors!" [Meteor shower Q&A: How much do you know about meteor showers? ]

The debris that burned the comet and caused the Gemini meteor shower apparently fell from an Apollo-class asteroid (called 3200 Phaeton).

This 3-mile-wide (5-kilometer-wide) 3,200 Phaeton is considered by some researchers to be a short-period comet, whose core was stripped off in the distant past. In fact, the orbit of 3200 Phaeton 1.52 years is much shorter than that of any active comet at present. According to calculation, its associated Gemini meteor stream has a history of about 4700 years.

Only recently (relatively speaking) did the earth begin to interact with the debris trajectory of this asteroid.

Different from Perseus, Perseus meteor swarm can be traced back to nearly 2000 years ago (36 years, according to the ancient chronicles of China, it was not until1862 65438+February that British and American observers began to notice that several bright meteors flew by Gemini every hour, and Gemini was reported. [Amazing Perseid meteor shower photos taken by astronomical observers]

By the beginning of the 20th century, astronomical observers reported that there were about 20 to 25 meteors per hour. In the 1940s and 1950s, the speed of meteors rose to 30 and 60 per hour respectively. In the 1960s, the proportion was close to 65. By the end of 1970s, some observers reported that there were as many as 80 Gemini stars per hour.

The number of precious stones has been increasing. Since then, for those who have a wide view of the dark starry sky, the ratio per minute has reached two.

Bind and "shower" a friend, however, Gemini watches are cold! You may be outdoors near the coldest time in the 24-hour temperature cycle. Because you (hope) will be in the vast and clear sky, radiation cooling will make you colder. Unlike most things you do outdoors in cold weather, meteor observation is static.

Astronomer Henry Neely has been a popular lecturer at the Hayden Museum in new york for many years. In his book Harper and Brothers (1946), he wrote: "Following a man's advice, my teeth chattered many winter nights-wrapped much warmer than you think necessary!"

In fact, it is expected that the ambient air temperature will be much lower than the weather forecast of local radio or TV stations. Thick blankets, sleeping bags, floor cloths, car cushions and pillows are all essential equipment. Try the electric pad in your coat.

No two observers prepare for the meteor vigil in the same way. Taking a nap at night, taking a bath and wearing new clothes are all helpful. Hot cocoa, tea or coffee can eliminate the cold and provide a slight * * *. It would be better if you could observe it with your partner. This will keep the other party awake and cover up the sun.

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What can you expect from the best observation direction is the darkest place in your sky-maybe directly above it. The average brightness of a typical Gemini meteor is about second-class or third-class (as bright as the Big Dipper).

About one tenth of Gemini meteors reach zero or brighter, and a few Gemini meteors can be very bright fireballs or even meteors that can cast shadows (explosive meteors). David H. Levi and Stephen J. Edberg wrote in 1986, A Guide to Meteor Observation: "If you haven't seen a huge Gemini fireball gracefully across the vast sky, then you haven't seen a meteor."

Only about 3% of Gemini people wake up in constant heat. From the observation of Gemini for many years, I personally compare them to the "Amano Mouse" passing through the background star.

About 65% of the gems look pure white, and 25% look yellow. The remaining colors can have many different colors: red, orange, blue or green. Some astronomical observers say Gemini looks brighter and brighter before midnight.

Don't miss the opening and closing ceremonies, and don't despise the night away from the peak date. The number of Gemini meteors began to increase. From the night of 65438+February 7, there are only a few meteors per hour.

During the night of February's peak 13 to 14, meteor activity gradually established, but relatively weak meteors (third-class or darker) seemed to be spreading. On the night before the peak (12, 13 to 13), the interest rate is about half of the highest. After the evening peak, the interest rate drops sharply: from the night of 12, 14 to 15, you may only see a quarter of the peak interest rate. But the visible meteors are obviously brighter than the early ones, which may be because the smaller meteoroids are dominant at the beginning, but the larger particles will leave traces at the end.

On the night of February 15 to 16, you may catch some meteors scattered in the evening, but after that, the curtain will fall and the Gemini 20 17 performance will be over.

Editor's Note: If you have captured the wonderful shots of Gemini meteor or any other night sky landscape and want to share possible stories or galleries with Space***, please send the images and comments to: spacephotos@Space.

Joe Rao is a lecturer and guest lecturer at the Hayden Planetarium in new york. He writes astronomy articles for Natural History Magazine, Farmer's Yearbook and other publications. He is also a camera meteorologist based in Fios 1 News, Brook, New York. He follows us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published in space