by One of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year peaked tonight, and avid sky watchers around the world were able to capture the spectacle, although some have complained that bad weather has marred the view.
The Geminids they are the second richest meteor shower of the year, surpassed only by the August Perseids. A debris product from the unusual asteroid 3200 Phaetonthe Geminide meteor downpours at their peak can produce up to 120 shooting stars per hour. When the sky is clear, sky watchers can catch up to two meteors per minute during the peak, which this year fell on the night of Dec. 13.
In California, photographer Tayfun Coskun captured some beautiful streaks of shooting stars above a shipwreck at Point Reyes, the skeleton of a fishing boat stranded on a sandbar near the small town of Inverness about 40 miles (64 kilometers) north- west of San Francisco. Other skygazers have taken their photos against other spectacular backgrounds.
Related: Meteor showers 2022-23: where, when and how to see them
Photographer Paula Corrette shared a mesmerizing snap on Twitter showing a star-studded sky with Mars’ great reddish spot and a meteor streak cutting through the photograph right next to it.
“A little condensation on the lens added a little shimmer to Mars as a meteor flew by,” Corrette said in the tweets.
A little condensation on the lens added some shimmer to Mars as a meteor flew by.#geminids #azwx pic.twitter.com/998n15Qw6qDecember 14, 2022
Another photographer, Frankie Lucena, shared a clip showing a bright streak of light crossing the dark sky near Puerto Rico’s Lajas Aerostat radar station.
“Geminid metea near Lajas balloon looking SE from Cabo Rojo, PR”, Lucena tweeted.
Geminids meteor near Lajas balloon facing SE from Cabo Rojo, PR. @adamonzon @DeborahTiempo @weatherchannel @amsmeteors #GeminidMeteorShower #Geminids @IMOmeteors @SPACEdotcom @NASA @eMeteorNews @meteordoc pic.twitter.com/uXsCdCpItEDecember 14, 2022
A Twitter user named WonderPixel shared footage from two webcams showing a meteor lighting up the night in Maine. The user said this was the second catch in two consecutive nights.
“Wow I have another meteor on camera tonight here at http://FreeportMaineWebcam.com. Two days in a row! Aim at Harpswell and two cameras caught it,” the user wrote.
Wow I have another meteor on camera tonight here at https://t.co/SldgGkDZRH. Two days in a row! He’s aiming for Harpswell and two cameras caught him. #Geminids #Meteorshower #meteorspotted @SarahLongWMTW @colleenhurleywx @spann @StormHour @Met_CindyFitz @Todd_Gutner pic.twitter.com/U2M5qxj5vYDecember 14, 2022
Not everyone who was watching was taking pictures, but many still enjoyed the show.
Meteorologist Ed Piotrowski counted 15 meteors in just half an hour and despite less than perfect observation conditions.
“Despite the brightness of the waning gibbous moon and some cirrus clouds, I saw 15 meteors in about 30 minutes. Nothing particularly bright though,” Piotrowski tweeted.
Many radio amateurs have been able to detect the signal of the passage of space rocks The earth’s atmosphere on their devices, according to the amateur radio enthusiast and podcaster Bryce Foster.
Some observers, however, were less fortunate as clouds obstructed their view. A Twitter user from Detroit called Delminico Primo She said:
“Looks like Mother Nature is going to block my view of any #Geminids tonight. I’ve been out for a few hours and only got a hazy look at the brightest objects (Mars, Betelgeuse and Capella in that first shot), but the clouds are making their way now.”
The same was true of Jon Van Horne in Florida: “Did you see any #Geminids tonight from Space Coast, FL?! YA! Me neither.” Van Horne he said in a tweet accompanied by an image of a cloudy sky at sunset.
The Geminids will continue until December 17, but the frequency of the meteors will drop dramatically. The next significant meteor shower will be the Ursidswhich will peak around December 22.
Follow Tereza Pultarova on Twitter @TerezaPultarova. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and go Facebook.
