Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Geminid Meteor Shower Defies Explanation

NASA writes Geminid Meteor Shower Defies Explanation. "The Geminid meteor shower, which peaks this year on Dec. 13th and 14th, is the most intense meteor shower of the year. It lasts for days, is rich in fireballs, and can be seen from almost any point on Earth." It looks to be really cold next week and the forecast calls for snow on the 13th so I'm not sure I'll be out looking. But the rest of the article was quite interesting...

"Most meteor showers come from comets, which spew ample meteoroids for a night of 'shooting stars.' The Geminids are different. The parent is not a comet but a weird rocky object named 3200 Phaethon that sheds very little dusty debris—not nearly enough to explain the Geminids."


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