Geminid meteor shower in December 2022: How and where to watch in India?

A spectacular meteor shower is hitting our skies in the next few days. It's time for the Geminid meteor shower, an annual spectacle that graces the heavens every December.

The shower is most likely to be seen late at night on December 13 and in the early hours of December 14 in India. According to NASA, "A waning gibbous Moon will make it harder to view most of the shower, resulting in only 30-40 visible meteors per hour at the peak in the Northern Hemisphere, depending on sky conditions. But the Geminids are so bright that this should still be a good show."

Where do the Geminids come from?

The Geminids are fragments of a rock comet. Meteors are fragments and particles that burn up as they enter Earth’s atmosphere at high speed, and they usually originate from comets, NASA said. The meteor shower is coined as Geminids because the meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Gemini, it added.

The Geminid shower originates from the debris of 3200 Phaethon, an asteroid first discovered in 1983. 

Geminids meteor shower in India?

The Geminids meteor shower is most likely to be seen late at night on December 13 and in the early hours of December 14 in India. The shower is likely to be visible from areas of Bengaluru and from locations far away from the lights of cities. So in areas where there are no light or air pollution skywatchers likely to witness it.

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How to watch Geminids meteor shower?

You do not need to use any special equipment to view the showers. However, you should give your eyes enough time to adjust to the darkness.