Australian sky-gazers watch for annual Geminid meteor shower spectacle

THE GEMINID meteor shower put on quite a show in the skies above Australia overnight. Here are the best images being shared on social media.

AUSSIE stargazers are recovering from a night looking up as the annual Geminids meteor shower reached its peak.

While many amateur stargazers are complaining of sore necks and lack of sleep — or that they saw nothing but bats and clouds — others were more fortunate, snapping and sharing these images on social media.

Brisbane

The #Geminids put on a pretty good show this morning from S of Brisbane! #GeminidMeteorShower pic.twitter.com/ygtRQyaG2h

— MartyPhotography (@MartyPouwelse) December 14, 2015

Cairns

A pic of tonight's #Geminids meteor shower. pic.twitter.com/nabCv2Em2v

— Matt Aquila Marshall (@mattdmarshall) December 14, 2015

Sydney

Eight "shooting stars" spotted in the last hour. Sydney's northern beach at Collaroy #Geminids

— Wendy Harmer (@wendy_harmer) December 14, 2015

Spent an hour watching #Geminids at 2:30am. Spectacular. Amazing how humbling staring into the night sky can be.

— Liz Ellis (@LizzyLegsEllis) December 14, 2015

Ballina

#geminidsmeteorshower #Geminids Yep ok, gear works, going to head to the lookout to get some proper shots pic.twitter.com/K4QWDNkQLp

— andrew bazar (@andrewbazar) December 14, 2015

Kiama

Stargazer David Finlay captured this footage of a meteor shooting across the night sky in Kiama in the early hours of December 14, as kookaburras laugh in the background.

“That’s an Australian meteor,” says Findlay.

Melbourne

Perfect conditions for the annual #Geminids meteor shower and best seen tonight over @Melbourne (Pic from weekend) pic.twitter.com/XaukmnxZlK

— Shayne Whiteley (@7newspilot) December 13, 2015

The 2015 Geminids began on the weekend and hit their peak on Monday night. They were expected to occur at 5am AEDT, according to Australian astronomers Dr Jonti Horner and Dr Tanya Hill on The Conversation.

The shower — nicknamed ‘nature’s fireworks’ by Dr Horner — will then end just three days after reaching its maximum.

Fiery show ... Last year’s Geminid meteor shower, pictured from South Australia’s Bugle Hut in the Murray Mallee region. Picture: Grant Schwartzkopff/Supplied

The shower can be seen from anywhere in Australia, but the further north you live, the better your view will be. This is because the Geminid radiant — described as the point in the sky from which the meteors appear to radiate — will appear higher up.

This year’s shower is shaping up to be extra memorable for skywatchers eager to burn the midnight oil, because the skies will appear dark and moonless, making the blazing trails across the sky burn even brighter.

The Geminids, first observed in the 1860s, are a debris stream from a disintegrating asteroid named 3200 Phaethon. The meteor shower becomes visible when the Earth ploughs through it in its orbit.

The tiny particles, some no bigger than a grain of sand, burn up brightly as they enter the atmosphere.

The shower can be observed from both northern and southern hemispheres of the planet. They appear to come close to the Gemini constellation — hence the name.

Awe-inspiring ... A shooting star is spotted from Sydney’s Elanora Heights as part of last year’s Geminids. Picture: Doug Cliff/Suppled

Dr Horner and Dr Hill advise the best way to spot the Geminids is by first finding the radiant. Then turn your gaze 30 to 45 degrees to the left or to the right — or wherever there is the least light obstruction — then look about 30 to 45 degrees above the horizon. Also, keep in mind it usually takes about 30 minutes for your eyes to adapt to darkness. So switch off your lights and electronics.

The time of the peak was expected to occur around 4am AEST (QLD), 5am AEDT (NSW, ACT, VIC and TAS), 4:30am ACDT (SA), 3:30am ACST (NT) and 2am AWST (WA).