11/12/2025
The Geminid Meteor shower, active between 04 and 20 December, reaches a peak on the night of 13 into the early hours of 14 December.
The Geminids are the most prolific annual meteor shower, with peak rates which can reach up to 120 meteors per hour under ideal conditions of perfectly clear, light-pollution and Moon free skies.
Meteor showers take their name after the part of the sky that the meteors appear to radiate from, in this case the constellation of Gemini the Twins. This constellation is fairly easy to spot as it lies just to the left of Orion, recognisable by the three stars in a row marking his belt. The 'twin stars' of Castor and Pollux, the two brightest in Gemini, sit one above the other.
The source of the Geminids is rather unusual in that it is not a comet but an asteroid called 3200 Phaethon. Geminids tend to be quite bright and can be a mix of colours, including yellow, green, red and blue, with these colours coming from he presence of small amounts of metals such as sodium and calcium.
Meteors can appear anywhere in the sky. To check if its a Geminid follow the tail back and if it points towards Gemini then it will have been a Geminid meteor.
The best way to observe any meteor shower is to sit back in a comfy chair (a deck chair works best), wrap up warm and keep your eye on the sky. Your eyes are the best tools to observe the shower as binoculars or a telescope will reduce your field of view too much. The darker the skies the more meteors will be visible, so if you can get away from street lights and other artificial light sources.
At the moment the weather forecast for the Paisley area is not looking too good, but if you do have clear skies wherever you are you should definitely try to catch the show!
The image shows a Geminid meteor passing by Orion. If anyone manages to photograph a meteor please do post it here.
