Geminid Meteor Shower: Best meteor shower of year peaks this weekend across Australia
Get away from the twinkling Christmas lights this weekend for the best meteor shower of the year. Find out when and where to watch the meteor shower:
Australians can expect a dazzling display of shooting stars this weekend for what experts are calling the best meteor shower of the year.
The annual Geminid meteor shower will be visible around the world this weekend, and University of Southern Queensland Professor of Astrophysics Jonti Horner said this year will be particularly good visibility conditions.
“It’s better than normal this year and will be good again next year because the moon will be out of the way,” he said.
“This is the best meteor shower of the year by quite a comfortable distance for us and the reason for that is simply that the number of meteors per hour is much better than other meteor showers there are through the year.
“They also do produce a reasonable number of bright meteors.”
The best night to see the shower is Sunday, December 14 into the morning of the 15th, but meteors will be visible on Saturday night and Monday night as well.
Professor Horner said the Geminid meteor shower will be visible by basically the entire inhabited part of the Earth but the prime location is anywhere at 32 or 33 degrees north of the equator.
He said this includes areas of North Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and North America.
Within Australia areas further north, such as Darwin, will get a better view of the shower.
He said in South East Queensland the best time to watch the shower will be between midnight and 4am on Monday morning, and should peak around 2am.
Professor Horner said in Toowoomba at about 2am on Monday people could expect to see about 50 to 60 meteors per hour, while places further north could see more.
“Meteors are like buses, you can wait five minutes and then three come along at once,” he said.
“They’re not perfectly regularly timed, but they come in kind of randomly.”
He said people should take advantage of the opportunity and get out of town for the best views.
“If you’re staying in the middle of Toowoomba with all the light pollution we have and all the Christmas lights and all the rest of it, the sky will be a bit brighter than if you go out to the country,” he said.
“The Geminids are so good that to be honest, from backyards in Toowoomba, so long as you can avoid direct light dazzling, you can sit out in your backyard and still get a fairly good show.
“It’s a perfect time to look at doing a bit of pre-Christmas camping, getting a little bit away from town and just really have a relaxing time with the people you love.”
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Originally published as Geminid Meteor Shower: Best meteor shower of year peaks this weekend across Australia
