Geminid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight: Watch It Live

Meteor Shower
A Perseid meteor flashes across the night sky above Corfe Castle on August 12, 2016 in Corfe Castle, United Kingdom. The Geminid meteor shower peaks on Dec. 13, 2016. (Image credit: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

The Geminid meteor shower, one of the most impressive annual night-sky events, peaks tonight (Dec. 13), and you can watch the action live online if Mother Nature spoils your view.

The Slooh Community Observatory will host a live webcast featuring views of the "falling stars" from Slooh's flagship observatory at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands, as well as from locations in Connecticut (where Slooh is based), the United Kingdom and Sweden. The broadcast will start at 8 p.m. EST (0100 GMT Wednesday) on Slooh's website here.

You can also watch the webcast here at Space.com, courtesy of Slooh. The Geminids will take place during December's full "supermoon" — meaning the full moon is also at its closest point to Earth in its 27-day orbit — but Slooh astronomers are still expecting a good show because the meteors themselves are bright. [Geminid Meteor Shower 2016: When, Where & How to See It]

This NASA sky map shows the location of the Geminid meteor shower source in the eastern night sky on Dec. 13, 2016 during the shower's peak, which will be washed out by the bright full moon nearby. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

"Not only will viewers be able to see meteors whizzing by these many low-light cameras; they'll also get a chance to hear the [bits] of space debris as they collide with Earth's atmosphere, thanks to Slooh's special radio feed," Slooh officials said in a statement.

During the broadcast, astronomers and other experts will discuss the strange asteroid, known as 3200 Phaethon, that causes the Geminids. Recurring meteor showers occur when Earth passes through a trail of debris left behind by a comet, asteroid or other space rock. 3200 Phaethon could have been a comet or a piece of a comet in the past. Because the asteroid is rocky (rather than icy), the particles that fall through Earth's atmosphere and burn up during the Geminid meteor shower are brighter and burn longer when they fall through the atmosphere.

The Slooh experts will explain why the Geminids are active at the same time every year. Because the Geminids seem to emanate from the constellation Gemini, the experts will also discuss the mythology surrounding the Gemini twins, Castor and Pollux. Viewers will also get a tutorial on how to take their own meteor photographs.

Slooh's host for the broadcast will be Gerard Monteux, who has just joined the organization after time at ESPN and NBC Sports (where he went by the name Bill Patrick).

"It's an honor and a privilege to be working alongside some of the most respected people in the world of astronomy, astrophysics and engineering," Monteux said in a statement from Slooh. "You could say I'm 'starstruck.'"

Monteux will be joined by Slooh astronomers Paul Cox and Eric Edelman, as well as journalist Bob Berman and Slooh's human spirit correspondent, Helen Avery. Viewers can participate in the broadcast — and get the chance to win a copy of the new book "The Saturn Above It: An Anthology of Short Fiction About Space" — by tweeting @Slooh or participating in the live chat on Slooh's Facebook page.

Follow Elizabeth Howell @howellspace, or Space.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

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Elizabeth Howell
Staff Writer, Spaceflight

Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House and Office of the Vice-President of the United States, an exclusive conversation with aspiring space tourist (and NSYNC bassist) Lance Bass, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?", is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University and a Bachelor of History from Canada's Athabasca University. Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and science at several institutions since 2015; her experience includes developing and teaching an astronomy course at Canada's Algonquin College (with Indigenous content as well) to more than 1,000 students since 2020. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday. Mastodon: https://qoto.org/@howellspace