[ad_1]
Night sky enthusiasts are gearing up to enjoy Gemini, one of the best meteor showers of 2021, peaking Monday night through Tuesday morning.
Along with the Perseids in summer, the winter Geminids are one of the most anticipated meteor showers of the year, potentially producing a hundred or more spectacular streaks per hour that blast through the skies.
Geminids originate from an asteroid 3200 Phaethon, which orbits the sun every 1.4 years and scatters pieces of itself as it travels. These tiny rocks slam into our atmosphere, creating dazzling trails of light as they burn. As Earth enters the debris field of Phaethon, the resulting meteors all seem to line up from a point in the sky called a radian, where the Gemini constellation sits, hence the name of the meteor shower. Other downpours are caused by comets.
You might get a good look at them tonight, but Gemini presented an unusual sight for a few lucky viewers in December 2020.
Nathan Myhrvold, former chief technology officer and photographer of Microsoft, asteroids researcher and one cookbook writerTraveled near Pinto Canyon in Texas’ Big Bend region during a particularly impressive Gemini shower when the moon was new, and therefore caused little interference.
Dr. Myhrvold created a custom four-camera array that allowed him to capture a large part of the sky at once, and used that to record last year’s show. After processing and combining images from thousands of different exposures, he realized that his images were meteors originating from several different points, not just the Gemini constellation.
Dr. “Because it was very dark and I had this particular camera setup, we captured meteors from six different rains at once,” Myhrvold said.
The other downpours pictured were small showers and were not near their peaks, so they produced only a few faint meteors. Dr. Along with Geminids, Myhrvold managed to see traces of Sigma Hydrids, Leonis Minorids, Comae Berenicids, Monocerotids and Puppid-Velids.
Dr. “I was expecting to see a picture where all the lines come from a single radiant,” Myhrvold said. “It turned out to be six glows, though a ton from Gemini.”
Catching meteors from so many sources at once is rare, and viewers shouldn’t expect to see anything similar this year. But you can still enjoy the show.
How to Watch Gemini
Geminids peak between December 13 and December 14.
William said it’s estimated that this year’s Gemini will be harder than usual to see in dark sky conditions, with perhaps one meteor per minute, due to the bright moon, which is nearly full and will be above the horizon for part of the night. Cooke, who leads the Meteoroid Environments Office at NASA.
The moon sets around 2 a.m. Tuesday morning, so the best chance of seeing the shower in all its glory is between then and sunrise, regardless of your time zone.
For those who want to see the most impressive image, Dr. Cooke advised them to go as dark as possible, away from city lights.
“If you’re in the middle of downtown Manhattan, go elsewhere,” he said.
Viewers should give themselves 30 to 45 minutes for their eyes to adjust to the darkness and then lie flat on the ground in a position where they can get as much of the sky as possible. Dr. “First of all, don’t look at your cell phone,” Cooke said. “You’re going to ruin your night vision.”
Gemini originates from the constellation Gemini, while meteors will appear all over the sky. Binoculars or telescopes are unnecessary because meteorites pass too fast to be caught in their binoculars.
It’s December, so it’s best to pack up and bring a thermos to drink. Dr. “Meteor observation takes time,” Cooke said. “Mother Nature isn’t big on comfort.”
If you miss the peak tonight, the shower will continue for the next few days. Early Wednesday morning is another good opportunity to catch Geminids.
Photographing the Meteor Shower
Cell phone cameras are generally not sensitive enough to record meteors because lines only last a few seconds.
Without a personalized setup, Dr. While you won’t be able to take a photo like Myhrvold’s, you can try your luck with astrophotography if you have a digital camera. Dr. Myhrvold suggests placing a camera on a tripod with a wide-angle lens and then setting a long exposure, perhaps 10 seconds. Then sit back, stay warm and enjoy the show with your own eyes.
[ad_2]
Source link