The annual Geminid meteor shower which is considered one of the most reliable displays of shooting stars, will take place this weekend and can be observed in Vietnam, Vietnam Net online newspaper has reported.
According to Nguyen Duc Phuong, from the Vietnam Space Observatory Association, the Geminids, known as the "king" of the meteor showers, are already around, having been active only in a very weak and scattered form since about December 7.
The 2013 Geminid meteor shower is expected to be on an upswing in the nights to come, leading up to its peak on the night of December 13, the early morning of December 14, with about 120 streaks/hour.
The meteors, which come from the constellation Gemini, may also be visible at night from December 7 to 17, but "the best view of the +shooting stars+ should come between 1am and 4 am (local time) on December 14, " said the expert.
Skywatchers can find a spot with an open view of the sky and no lights to get in their eyes, and gaze into the constellation Gemini - the focal point of the meteor shower, when this constellation is quite high in comparison to the southeast horizon.
"This time the bright moonlight may affect the observations, but the Geminids is the large meteor shower with lots of bright meteors so we can still enjoy the interesting, colorful party of meteors," Phuong added.
Historically, this shower has a reputation for being rich both in slow, bright, meteors as well as rather faint meteors, with relatively few of medium brightness.
Many Geminid meteor shower streaks appear yellowish in hue. Every once in a while, a Geminid fireball will blaze forth, bright enough to be quite spectacular and more than capable of attracting attention even in bright moonlight.
The Geminids have a tendency to rise slowly toward their maximum. The day before they peak, the majority of the meteors that are seen are usually rather faint.
But at the peak as well as the day after, the shower is dominated by a preponderance of bright meteors. And the intensity of the display drops off rather sharply the day after the peak.
Most of the meteor shower originated from comets, but for the Geminids, it is related to a celestial body called 3200 Phaethon, which was discovered in 1982.
Every day there are millions of meteorites falling to Earth on fire. They are too small and fragmented so the naked eyes cannot see them.
People can just observe bright meteors and when there are many meteors appearing in the same area in the sky, known as meteor showers.
Each year, the Earth has the opportunity to observe around 8 big meteor showers. These meteor showers often repeat at the same time from year to year.-VNA
According to Nguyen Duc Phuong, from the Vietnam Space Observatory Association, the Geminids, known as the "king" of the meteor showers, are already around, having been active only in a very weak and scattered form since about December 7.
The 2013 Geminid meteor shower is expected to be on an upswing in the nights to come, leading up to its peak on the night of December 13, the early morning of December 14, with about 120 streaks/hour.
The meteors, which come from the constellation Gemini, may also be visible at night from December 7 to 17, but "the best view of the +shooting stars+ should come between 1am and 4 am (local time) on December 14, " said the expert.
Skywatchers can find a spot with an open view of the sky and no lights to get in their eyes, and gaze into the constellation Gemini - the focal point of the meteor shower, when this constellation is quite high in comparison to the southeast horizon.
"This time the bright moonlight may affect the observations, but the Geminids is the large meteor shower with lots of bright meteors so we can still enjoy the interesting, colorful party of meteors," Phuong added.
Historically, this shower has a reputation for being rich both in slow, bright, meteors as well as rather faint meteors, with relatively few of medium brightness.
Many Geminid meteor shower streaks appear yellowish in hue. Every once in a while, a Geminid fireball will blaze forth, bright enough to be quite spectacular and more than capable of attracting attention even in bright moonlight.
The Geminids have a tendency to rise slowly toward their maximum. The day before they peak, the majority of the meteors that are seen are usually rather faint.
But at the peak as well as the day after, the shower is dominated by a preponderance of bright meteors. And the intensity of the display drops off rather sharply the day after the peak.
Most of the meteor shower originated from comets, but for the Geminids, it is related to a celestial body called 3200 Phaethon, which was discovered in 1982.
Every day there are millions of meteorites falling to Earth on fire. They are too small and fragmented so the naked eyes cannot see them.
People can just observe bright meteors and when there are many meteors appearing in the same area in the sky, known as meteor showers.
Each year, the Earth has the opportunity to observe around 8 big meteor showers. These meteor showers often repeat at the same time from year to year.-VNA
