Geminid meteor shower
The Geminid meteor shower is an annual meteor shower night-time observers can see every December 13 and December 14.[1][2][3] Observers first took note of the shower in the early 1800s, but it was not until 1983 until that asteroid 3200 Phaeton was first observed and Astronomer Fred Whipple tied the asteroid to the shower.
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑
"Geminids". NASA Science. 2017-11-20. Archived from the original on 2023-09-30. Retrieved 2026-06-07.
Asteroid 3200 Phaethon takes 1.4 years to orbit the Sun once. It is possible that Phaethon is a "dead comet" or a new kind of object being discussed by astronomers called a "rock comet."
- ↑
"Meteor Showers Ranked". Eastern Sierra Observatory. 2019-08-12. Retrieved 2026-06-07.
Meteor showers rain down from the cosmos throughout the year. These showers occur when Earth passes through a debris field in its orbit. Most of the debris we come in contact with is "dust" shed by comets traveling through the solar system, but meteors can range in size from as tiny as microns to as large as 1 meter. Anything larger than that is considered an asteroid or comet. Meteors typically enter our atmosphere traveling at speeds of 25,000 mph to 160,000 mph.
- ↑ Deborah Byrd (2025-12-12). "Mysterious 3200 Phaethon is the Geminids' parent object". EarthSky. Retrieved 2026-06-07.