In the coming days, people across Germany will be given front-row seats for nature’s fireworks, with the Geminids meteor shower set to peak over Europe on December 13 and 14, 2024. It is often described as the biggest shooting star event of the year, with up to 150 meteors set to cross the night sky every hour!
An annual delight, the Geminids meteor shower is named after the Gemini constellation. The shooting stars arrive in the skies over Europe and Germany every Christmas season and are sourced from the 3200 Phaethon asteroid. This means that unlike meteor showers created by comets (which are mostly ice and have a lower density), the Geminid shower is known for having a higher density of shooting stars.
Like the Perseids meteor shower in August, the Geminids are considered one of the most impressive meteor showers to cross the night sky - at peak times, between 50 and 150 meteors can be seen every hour. They enter the earth’s atmosphere at 35 kilometres per second - quite slow by meteor standards - which should make them much easier to see with the naked eye.
In 2024, the Geminids are active between December 6 and 16, but will peak over the northern hemisphere on Friday. Stargazers will be able to spot hundreds of shooting stars between sundown on December 13 and sunrise on December 14. For those with an in-depth knowledge of the stars - or the SkyView app on their mobile phone - the meteors will radiate from around the Castor star in the Gemini constellation, which will emerge from the east and move across the sky until dawn.
In terms of the weather and stargazing visibility, things aren’t looking great. A bright, full moon will make it harder to find the meteors in the night sky and it remains uncertain whether clouds will obstruct the view or a clear night sky will be forecast for Germany on the night of December 13.
If you want to catch a glimpse of one of the world’s most impressive meteor showers, be sure to wrap up warm and head out to areas without any light pollution. This typically means as far away from cities as possible and towards forests, hills and, if you are lucky enough, mountains.
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