What is the Geminids meteor shower and how does it occur?
If a comet travels close to the sun, the celestial object heats up and parts of it end up being vaporized. With each orbit of the sun, the comet leaves behind more and more small pieces of itself along the orbital path. When the Earth passes through the same orbital path streaks of light could be seen in the night sky caused by the remnants of the comet, this occurrence is referred to as a meteor shower.
The Geminids meteor shower is a particularly unique meteor shower that takes place near the end of every year. It is caused by the debris from 3200 Phaethon which is an active Apollo asteroid with an orbit closer to the sun than any other named asteroid. What distinguishes the Geminids from others is they do not arise from a parent comet rather an asteroid. The Geminids are also a lot denser in comparison and are able to come as close as 29 miles to the Earth’s surface before burning up. The first observations of this shower can be traced back all the way to the mid-1800s. Since then the number of meteors visible per hour has increased from 10-20 visible per hour all the way to around 150 at its peak.
The best time to observe the shower is between 1:00 am to 4:00 am during the event. Those living in the Northern Hemisphere will be able to observe the most Geminids compared to the rest of the world. NASA through its resources is making it possible for everyone to witness this event.
https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-geminid-meteor-shower/
https://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/ask/256-What-is-a-meteor-shower-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3200_Phaethon
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