The Geminids will begin to appear noticeably more numerous in the hours after 10 p.m. local time, because the shower's radiant is already fairly high in the eastern sky by then. The best views, however, come around 2 a.m., when their radiant point will be passing very nearly overhead.  The higher a shower's radiant, the more meteors it produces all over the sky.

But keep this in mind: at this time of year, meteor watching can be a long, cold business. You wait and you wait for meteors to appear. When they don't appear right away, and if you're cold and uncomfortable, you're not going to be looking for meteors for very long!

The late Henry Neely, who for many years served as a lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium, once had this to say about watching for the Geminids: "Take the advice of a man whose teeth have chattered on many a winter's night — wrap up much more warmly than you think is necessary."

Hot cocoa or coffee can take the edge off the chill, as well as provide a slight stimulus. It's even better if you can observe with friends. That way, you can keep each other awake, as well as cover more sky.  Give your eyes time to dark-adapt before starting.

Geminids stand apart from the other meteor showers in that they seem to have been spawned not by a comet, but by 3200 Phaethon, an Earth-crossing asteroid. Then again, the Geminids may be comet debris after all, for some astronomers consider Phaeton to really be the dead nucleus of a burned-out comet that somehow got trapped into an unusually tight orbit. 

• Night Sky: Visible Planets, Moon Phases & Events, December 2012
• Geminid Meteors And Visible Asteroids: December Skywatching | Video
• Night Sky Observing Guide for December 2012 (Gallery)

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7 Comments

1. 1. Richieo 04:33 AM 12/8/12

   Very interesting, but "local time" is meaningless on WWW
   how about being a little more scientific about it?

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2. 2. Obbop 10:13 AM 12/8/12

   Incoming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
   
   DUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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3. 3. glideair 11:11 AM 12/8/12

   I'll be watching at 7:00 PM C.T. Great Article!

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4. 4. PTGoodman 06:52 PM 12/8/12

   Thanks for the article. Very good information for the non-expert. I sometimes stand outside late at night looking for meteors. The Geminid meteor shower should be a good one.

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5. 5. psibbald 10:10 PM 12/8/12

   @Richieo
   Local time in this case is appropriate. Apart from some variation due to latitude, wherever you are in the world the constellations will appear to rise at approximately the same (local) time, as do the sun and moon. The only thing mentioned in the article which can't be effectively described by 'local time' is the shower's maximum and this was provided in UT.

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6. 6. Geopelia 03:53 PM 12/10/12

   Will it be visible from New Zealand?

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7. 7. psibbald in reply to Geopelia 05:42 PM 12/10/12

   Yes it will, Geopelia. Go to http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html and download the map for the southern hemisphere. Note that the star Castor is below the horizon on the map. It is the 'head' of the northernmost twin.

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