Geminid Meteor Shower 2021: What to Expect from Annual Colorful Light Show This December

The anticipated Geminid meteor shower will show up in the skies before the year ends. However, the spectacle of lights this season will be a bit unclear to some of the observers due to another event that will coincide with the show. The Geminid meteor shower is expected to be presented by numerous specks of dust from space next week, peaking from Monday midnight up to Tuesday morning.

Best Meteor Shower of the Year Could Be Hindered by Bright Moonlight Glow

The best meteor shower of 2021 is regarded as the most active shower ever to occur throughout the year. The Geminids are expected to show up in the skies not just in a limited amount of time but along the deep nights of mid-December. Experts believe that the Geminids light show will present over 100 meteors dashing across the winter evening per hour, and all of these visitors could potentially be seen if the weather allows. One probable reason people may not perceive the Geminids is that there would be a lunar event displayed alongside it.

American Meteor Society expert Robert Lunsford said in a UPI report that the moon will rise on the same night as the Geminds meteor shower in a bright gibbous appearance, and the chances are that the lunar body will hinder the clear view of the light show. The expert added that the moonlight would most likely exceed the brightness of the significantly fainter meteors, cutting down the observable Geminids next week. But there is still hope for both the enthusiasts and astronomy experts, as the moon would not emit its glowing allure all night long. This remaining window will be the best opportunity to take up the optic devices and see the annual meteor shower.

ALSO READ: NASA James Webb Telescope Just Got Fueled; Set to Launch 3 Days Before Christmas

Geminid Meteor Shower in the US

The most probable rate of Geminids shooting across the night sky per hour runs from at least 10 to 15 meteors. The number of lights from the cosmic show will gradually increase as the night progresses. Lunsford said that the best hour to observe multiple meteors would start at moonset, some time after the hits 2 AM. The expert said that even though the expected Geminids will only top around 40 and is less than the true number of streaks, the hourly rate is still far greater than the previous year's showers. Lunsford explained that the Geminids would be challenging to see in bigger cities like many other meteor showers due to the lights coming off of structures.

The Geminid meteor shower will be visible not just in a specific area or near the constellation Gemini but in any portion of the night sky. Because of the potential hindrance that could be brought by the moon, the only possible solution is to look further from its light and check the darker regions up in the atmosphere.

The Geminid light show will be composed of several colorful streaks instead of just the standard glow of meteors. The shower pushed many climate experts to predict the certainty of cloudy skies on the date for the first time, as the annual show already disappointed many observers in the past years. The peak of the Geminids will depend on the prediction in the eastern states, but the cities in the central US would be granted a full experience come Tuesday morning.