Geminids 2010

The Geminid meteor shower is an annual meteor shower that is extremely regular in its timing and can potentially be visible for days in the late-autumn sky, depending on weather and location. The Geminid meteor shower is named after the constellation Gemini, which is located in roughly the same point of the night sky where the radiant of the Geminid meteor shower is. In late autumn or early winter, that means viewing the spectacular light show with eyes pointed straight up in the night sky. Geminids are pieces of debris from 3200 Phaethon, basically a rocky skeleton of a comet that lost most of it outer covering of ice after too many close encounters with the sun. Each December, Earth passes through the debris cloud left by the comet as sand-sized specks enter the Earth's atmosphere producing a spectacular show of "falling stars" with fireballs and grazers.

When and where to look for Geminids 2010

Beginning in early December, the Geminid meteor shower reaches its zenith on the nights of December 13 and 14, with a predicted peak just after midnight on December 14 on the US East Coast (or about 9PM Pacific time on December 13). 5 UT (or Greenwich Mean Time) on December 13th is predicted as Geminid prime time viewing over Europe. In North America, Canada and US East Coast residents will have the best viewing that night into the wee hours on the 14th, but as Geminids are a "long tail" event, expect additional views growing less spectacular several days or nights after the peak. While the Geminids have been comparatively a non-event in the last century, they have grown more spectacular in the recent past and this year is no exception. Even with a quarter moon providing less than optimum viewing in 2011, watch for a clear view (weather depending) of ZHR up to 140 at its peak.

How to view Geminids

The best place to observe the Geminid meteor shower (or any meteor shower for that matter), is somewhere dark, away from light pollution, and with the moon out of the field of vision. The less light visible, the more brilliant the meteor shower will be.

Telescope or camera?
While mostly viewable to the naked eye, the annual Geminid meteor show may be in any year partially obstructed by the moon, clouds or night mist, so amateur astronomers might want to carry along a pair of binoculars or a camera with a telescopic lens. Even on clear nights, some kind of viewing aid may come in handy for catching sight of even the faintest of falling stars, aptly named "telescopic" meteors. On super clear nights, experts advise to forget the telescope and simply ... look up! For photographing the annual event, a digital camera mounted on a tripod helps to steady the images that swiftly move across the sky. A quick trigger finger also helps, but even random clicks during the height of Geminid "prime-time" will also guarantee that you'll catch something. Be sure to have the camera focused on infinity and, if your camera permits, leave the shutter open for several minutes for the most spectacular photographic effects.

Summary
Annual meteor shower that can last for several days in late-autumn is the spectacular Geminidi meteor shower. The radiant of the meteor shower on the night sky is in the Gemini constellation, from where the Geminidi meteor shower got its name from. Pieces that were left behind the comet, when it got too close to the Sun, meet Earth every year in the early December and enter in our atmosphere. We can observe this as a spectacular show of "falling stars". In early December, Geminidi meteor shower reaches its zenith. The peak is predicted on December 13th after 5 UT (or GMT). Since Geminids are a "long-tail" event, we can observe them several days after the peak. In the recent past years Geminidi meteor shower has grown more spectacular. The best observing conditions are outside of towns, where we can avoid light pollution. We can observe the meteors with naked eye, but since there was half of the Moon shining, many observers used binoculars. To photograph Geminids we need a digital camera, which allows exposures over 30 seconds and also a solid tripod and a remote control are recommended. For the best effects we can take exposures that last a few minutes.

Unknown/ new words

UT (Univerzalni as) Universal time. GMT- Greenwich mean time (Greenwiki srednji as) This is the time in Greenwich (England) where the Prime meridian goes through. Zenith (Zenit) - A point in the sky which is right above us. Radiant (Radiant) - A point in the sky from which meteors apparently appear. ZHR- Zenithal hourly rate (ZHR- Zenitna urna frekvenca) - Thats the number of seen meteors from 1 person in 1 hour of watching at 6,5 limiting magnitude and with the radiant in the zenith. Wee hours (Zgodnje jutranje ure) Early morning hours. Fireball (Bolid) A very bright meteor (brighter than -3 magnitude). Grazer (Grazer) A very long meteor (about 120 and more) with a long lasting trace. Magnitude (Magnituda) - A unit for measuring the brightness of a solar object. Encounter (Sreanje) An unexpected meeting with a person or a thing. Speck (Drobec) A very little bit or particle. Obstruction (Zastor/ Obstrukcija) In this case, obstruction is a phenomenon where clouds cover the sky. Mist (Prec/ rosa) A small cloud of tiny droplets, similar to thin fog in the air just above the Earth's surface.

My opinion
I chose this article, because I am very interested in astronomy and the Geminidi meteor shower begins in December. The author used a simple, understandable type of writing so everyone is able to understand the article and learn about the Geminidi meteor shower. He presented the Geminids very good for the people who have no experience with observing events like this. He also described the origin and the time of the meteor shower very well. He forgot to write about practical advices about observing. For example he should have written that it is important to wear multiple layers of clothes because it is freezing cold on December nights. There are many articles about the Geminidi meteor shower but I chose this one because I think that author of the article convinced many people to go out and observe the meteors. I think that the Geminids are very beautiful and definitely worth observing and photographing.

A minus 3 magnitude Geminid captured on a cold December night.

Sources
The article: http://www.chiff.com/science/geminids.htm The picture: http://www.boncherry.com/blog/2010/12/13/geminid-meteor-shower-2010-peaks-ondecember-13th-and-14/