The strongest meteor shower of 2022 is expected to really light up Tuesday night and it sounds like it’ll be pretty darn epic.
The Geminids started in late November but will reach their best nights Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the American Meteor Society (AMS). Unlike many meteor showers, the Geminids are slower, brighter and throw out intense colors across the skies of the northern hemisphere between roughly 10:00 p.m. to midnight over the coming nights. And they are expected to last until Dec. 24.
NASA estimates that some 120 meteors could zoom past us every hour at a speed of almost 80,000 mph. Humans only started recording the Geminids in a meaningful way in the mid-1800s and its thought that it originates from asteroid 3200 Phaethon, NASA noted.
The Ursids are also active right now and will also be drawing to a close around Dec. 24, according to the AMS. Only five to 10 are expected per hour, so they often go overlooked.
#ICYMI: The Geminids meteor shower is approaching, @NASA advances Artemis Moon rocket production for future missions, and spacewalkers complete new solar array installation on @Space_Station! https://t.co/ORgg6a8MQj pic.twitter.com/iHkFHMWoiD
— NASA Marshall (@NASA_Marshall) December 10, 2022
“When you see a meteor burn up in Earth’s atmosphere, you’re seeing something that’s been out in space for a very long time,” NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office lead, Bill Cooke, told CNN. “Find a decently dark sky, find something that will block the moon, maybe a building or a tree, and look away from the moon at the sky.” (RELATED: Archeologists Call Fun Police On Netflix Doc In Hilariously Hypocritical Letter)
What a lovely, wondrous way to walk into the Christmas season.