Geminid Meteor Shower Countdown

The year's strongest shower

Under dark skies the Geminids can deliver well over 100 meteors an hour, with bright, slow, often colorful streaks. They radiate from near the constellation Gemini.

Bundle up and look up

December nights are cold but the show is worth it, no equipment needed. Find a dark spot, give your eyes time to adjust, and watch from late evening onward.

The 121-year mystery of the missing parent

The Geminids were first recorded in 1862, and for more than a century astronomers hunted in vain for the comet that produced them. The answer finally arrived in October 1983, when astronomers Simon Green and John Davies spotted a moving object in data from the IRAS satellite — the first asteroid ever discovered from a spacecraft. Within days, comet scientist Fred Whipple noticed its orbit matched the Geminid stream almost exactly. The parent wasn't a comet at all: it was asteroid 3200 Phaethon, named for the boy who drove the sun god's chariot, because it swings closer to the sun than any other named asteroid.

A rare shower you don't have to stay up for

Most meteor showers make you wait until after midnight, but Gemini climbs into the sky by mid-evening, so Geminids start appearing around 9 or 10 p.m. local time — one of the few major showers young kids can catch before bed. Rates keep building toward 2 a.m., when the radiant is highest. The meteors hit the atmosphere at about 78,000 mph — slow by meteor standards — producing bright, long, often yellow-tinted streaks. Bring a blanket, lie back, and give your eyes a full 30 minutes to adapt to the dark.

Quick facts

• Peaks in mid-December each year
• Often 100+ meteors per hour at peak
• Comes from asteroid 3200 Phaethon, not a comet
• Radiates from the constellation Gemini
• First recorded in 1862, and growing stronger over time
• Parent asteroid 3200 Phaethon was the first asteroid ever discovered from a spacecraft (IRAS, 1983)