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Stargazers and amateur astronomers get out your telescopes. The Geminids meteor shower will be in full display on December 13.

Skywatchers in  December 2020 will be seeing some rare treats. And it may be just what we need to cheer us up after the loss of the amazing Arecibo Observatory and space telescope.

Astronomers often refer to the Geminids as the “King of the Meteor Showers”.  It is arguably the brightest and busiest meteor display, and it occurs every year in mid-December. 

Geminids Annual event 

Every year the Earth passes through a stream of flying debris and rocks that are originating from a crumbling 19,000 ft asteroid named 3200 Phaethon. 

On Sunday and into the early hours of Monday, Dec. 14 as our planet will be passing through meteors and space dust.

The good news is that the meteor showers should be visible as early as 8 to 9 pm across the U.S. time zones. Star watchers won’t have to stay up late to view the show in North America. 

According to the EarthSky website’s lead writer Bruce McClure, "You should see a decent spattering of meteors on the preceding nights as well. And you might catch a Geminid meteor anytime this week, as the shower builds to its peak." 

Some meteors should be visible between now and December 17 with the height of the light show on December 13 and 14.

Multicolored light show

According to NASA, the Geminids have been known to produce 120 multicolored meteors or “shooting stars” per hour. They will be streaking across the sky, giving us lots of falling stars to wish on.

They often appear yellow, but they can also be blue, red, or green.

As 3200 Phaethon passes through the Earth’s orbit some of the debris burns up in our atmosphere. At speeds of around 80,000 miles per hr, the space rocks vaporize. 

You may be able to see much of the Geminids meteor shower activity with your own eyes. But a telescope or binoculars would allow you to zoom in on the meteors. 

Stargazers in the Northern Hemisphere of the U.S. should get the best views. People who live in the Southern Hemisphere will still be able to see some of the shooting stars across the sky.

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