Professor Alan Duffy, an astronomer at Swinburne University in Melbourne and lead scientist for the Royal Institute of Australia, has told Australian Geographic that on December 14, 2018, the biggest meteor shower of the year will be visible from earth, and revellers can expect to see up to 120 shooting stars an hour at its peak.
The Geminids meteor shower will light up the skies with an arresting lightshow of shooting stars when the earth passes through a cloud of debris from parent asteroid, 3200 Phaethon.
The Geminids meteor shower is a relatively new addition to the astro-scene, having only first been spotted 150 years ago, while other meteor showers such as Perseids and the Lyrids have been happening for thousands of years.
Due to other events that have taken place in space, the Geminids’ orbit is now moving closer to earth each year, which is why it has become more visible. Although, there’s no real threat that the meteor shower will collide with earth.
When can you see the meteor shower?
For Australians, the best way to catch a glimpse of the shower is to start watching the skies at 11:30pm AEST on Friday the 14th of December, 10:30pm for Queensland and 8pm in Western Australia.
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