Geminids - more 'fireballs'?

[Jolanta Zofia Nowak]

Here's hoping for some dark and non -cloudy skies in a few nights time.

I understand that the Geminids may have an asteroidal rather than a cometary source.

Does this have any implications for the number of truly bright 'fireballs' likely to be seen as compared, say, with the Perseids?

[naturelover]

hi jzn what a mouthfull of a name you have,anyway a warm welcome to the site,have fun and enjoy.

[Tazni]

Well I don't understand much of that post because I'm stupid =]


But I can tell you what I know!


The geminids should be having a meteor storm on the 7th December, but shouldn't fully peak until about the 12/14th December.

It should last an entire day so everyone should get a look if it's dark and clear =] Get your cameras pointing in that direction because up to 1 shooting star every 30 seconds could be seen =]

The brightness of the shooting stars varies because the moon is absent in the sky, and therefore there is less light in the sky, and therefore more chances of seeing them =]

Even though there is much more time before it is due, I have definatly seen an increase in shooting stars lately!!!

You should be able to see them mostly to the left of Orion... Erm... and it should be early morning for the most sightings. I am definatly hoping for a clear night as I have had the past few nights!

[carlos_dfc]

Yes, the geminids originate from an asteroid rather than a comet.
This means that they tend to be slower, and the particles can sometimes be more robust, leading tofireballs.

As the name suggests, the radiant is in Gemini
This doesn't mean that you will see the meteors IN Gemini - but that they appear to be moving AWAY from Gemini.
Best place to see meteors is usually 30° - 45° away from the radiant, however, having said that, they do sometimes appear closer to the radiant than that, but when they do, they tend to be shorter.

Funnily enough - I think I may have spotted an early Geminid last night.
A Slow moving, fiery-orange colour, appeared from above Orion's belt, and moved down, fading out just below Rigel.

The Geminids radiant is near the star 'Castor', and if you look at the chart in the link below - trace an imaginary line from Rigel, back through Orion's belt - and it does point pretty much back to the Geminids radiant
http://www.eaas.co.uk/news/geminids.html

[paulchandler6]

Lets hope we have a few clear nights as I for one would like to witness these. Thanx for the info everyone.

Paul

[Tazni]

I've been having cloudly afternoons but spotlessly clear nights and I've seen quite a few shooting stars lately =] The camera is coming out!

[The Woodman]

We had a good view of a meteorite fairly low in the north east from our house here in south Cumbria last night. My wife thought it was a firework initially the way in which it broke up. Cloud cover is a problem at the moment, clear starry skies one minute and then black cloud with heavy rain, occasionally thunder and lightning.

[Tazni]

What's the actual chance of a meteor hitting the ground?

[The Woodman]

My mother inlaw found a strange stone the size of a good orange in her garden in the Conwy valley a couple of years ago which she gave to me. It had a blackened appearance and was quite heavy. I took it to a museum who did a test and pronounced it an iron meteorite. They looked at its structure and from memory etched a small polished area with acid? I recall the resultant pattern as a "Widmanstatten Structure"?? Therefore, they must hit the ground sometimes.
It's now in a local primary school.
When I've been out and about at night at this time of year, I've seen meteorites burn up with spectacular results and crackling sounds but never quite sure how far away they are.

[Tazni]

I hope to see some nice ones then =]


It's always nice to see something like a shooting star