2012 Geminid Meteor Shower Peaks On December 13-14

The annual Geminid meteor shower will reach its peak in the night of December 13-14, 2012, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

Geminid meteor shower in 2000 (Photo: Shusaku Tago)

PAGASA said an average rate of forty (40) meteors per hour can be observed under a dark and cloudless sky just after midnight.

The Geminid meteor shower can be seen initially in the eastern sky, then overhead, and in the western sky. The meteors from this shower are slow moving.

Many gazers say the display is intensifying each year and recent showers have seen 120–160 meteors per hour under optimal conditions, generally around 2am to 3am local time.

According to NASA, the meteors are pieces of debris from an extinct comet called 3200 Phaethon. Earth runs into a stream of debris from 3200 Phaethon every year in mid-December, causing meteors to fly from the constellation Gemini.