They’re bright, they’re plentiful and the Geminids – which make up what’s regarded as one of the best annual meteor showers to witness – are about to reach their peak viewing time.
The Geminid meteors have already been active in our skies since 4 December, building up to the best night of the year to see them on Sunday.
Here’s what you need to know about the meteor shower and where you can best see it.
What is the Geminid meteor shower?
The Geminids get their name from the Gemini constellation, which they appear to neighbour. According to Prof Jonti Horner, an astrophysicist at the University of Southern Queensland, the Geminids are the best annual meteor shower by far, with people able to see potentially dozens of meteors an hour.
“What’s going on with the Geminids is that you’ve got a train of debris left behind by an astroid … often described as a rock comet,” Horner says.
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He says the comet – asteroid 3200 Phaethon – is named after the hero of Greek mythology, who was the son of sun god Helios. It gained this name due to its orbit, which takes it very close to the sun.
And, unlike many other meteors created from comets’ tails, the Geminids are actually made from the dust from asteroid 3200 Phaethon.
When can you best see the Geminids in Australia?
The meteor shower will peak on Sunday night and Monday morning.
Horner says they will appear highest in the sky between 3am and 3.30am (AEDT) on the east coast.
“The further north you are in Australia the better view you would have,” Horner says.
“So if you were in Darwin or Cairns and you’ve got really good dark skies, you could see as many as 80 or 90 meteors per hour at around 2am or 3am.”
What’s a good way to get a view of the meteor shower?
Horner says that the best way to watch the Geminid meteor shower will be by moving away from street lights.
“I would always rather stay up late than get up early, so for me I will stay up until I get too tired,” Horner says.
What causes a meteor shower to occur in the first place?
Horner says that as the Earth orbits the sun, it returns to peak viewing angles for the Geminids each year.
“So it’s like driving around a really big roundabout, if you’re just doing laps of the roundabout then you keep coming back to the same place,” Horner says.
“Now crossing Earth’s orbit are all these streams of dust and debris.”
He says that when comets go around the sun, they shed dust. This then spreads out over time, creating a broad stream of dust orbiting the sun.
Once the Earth passes through this stream, it runs into more dust than it normally would, and this is what causes the meteor showers to appear in our skies.
What can star enthusiasts look forward to in the new year?
The next big event for stargazers to enjoy in 2026 will be a total lunar eclipse on 3 March.
