(PresidentialHill.com)- The meteor shower that is predicted to be the most intense of 2022 is forecast to reach its peak on Tuesday night, and it sounds like it will be an absolutely unforgettable experience.
The American Meteor Society (AMS) says the Geminid meteor shower began in late November but will be at its peak on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Geminid meteor shower will be visible in the skies of the northern hemisphere between 10:00 p.m. and midnight over the next few nights. In contrast to other meteor showers, the Geminids will move more slowly, shine brighter, and emit more vibrant colors. They will continue until the 24th of December.
What a lovely and wondrous way to step into the Christmas season!
According to estimates provided by NASA, approximately 120 meteors could fly by Earth each hour, traveling at a speed of nearly 80,000 miles per hour. NASA pointed out that humans did not record the Geminids meaningfully until the middle of the 1800s, and the agency believes that the meteor shower originates from the asteroid 3200 Phaethon.
The Ursids are also active right now and will also be winding down around December 24. Because only five to ten are anticipated every hour, they are frequently forgotten about.
“When you see a meteor burn up in Earth’s atmosphere, you’re seeing something that’s been out in space for a very long time,” Bill Cooke, the lead of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office, told CNN.
He said to find somewhere with a reasonably dark sky, look up at the sky rather than the moon, and find something that will block the moon from view, like a tree or a building.
According to NASA, the Geminids, believed to have come from asteroid debris, travel at a speed of 78,000 miles per hour, or more than 40 times that of a bullet. Since most Geminid meteors burn up 45 and 55 miles above the atmosphere, the space agency added, it is improbable that the meteors will hit the ground.
