Geminids

The Geminids are a prolific meteor shower with 3200 Phaethon (which is thought to be an Apollo asteroid<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> with a "rock comet" orbit.<ref name="Jewitt2010" />) being the parent body.<ref name=IAUC3881>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Because of this, it would make this shower, along with the Quadrantids, the only major meteor showers not originating from a comet. The meteors from this shower are slow, they can be seen in December and usually peak around December 4–16, with the date of highest intensity being the morning of December 14. Current showers produce up to 120–160 meteors per hour under optimal conditions, peaking around 2:00 or 3:00. Geminids were first observed in 1862,<ref name="Kronk"/> much later than other showers such as the Perseids (36 AD) and Leonids (902 AD).

Based on data from the Parker Solar Probe, a 2023 study suggested that the Geminids may have been formed by the catastrophic breakup of a comet that formed asteroids 2005 UD and 1999 YC in addition to Phaethon.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Background

The Geminid meteor shower is unique among celestial events as it originates not from a comet but from the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, discovered on Oct. 11, 1983, by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS). Phaethon's 1.4-year orbit around the Sun and its comet-like elliptical trajectory have led scientists to speculate if it is a "dead comet" or a distinct celestial entity known as a "rock comet." Despite its comet-like orbit, Phaethon lacks a cometary tail and exhibits spectra resembling a rocky asteroid. The Geminid meteoroids formed from Phaethon are denser (2–3 g/cm³) than typical cometary dust flakes (0.3 g/cm³). Named after the Greek mythological figure who drove the Sun-god Helios' chariot, Phaethon's discovery was attributed to astronomer Fred Whipple.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Radiant

File:Geminids-2025-EN.jpg

Appearance of the Geminids on 13 December 2025 at 21:00 local winter time

File:Geminid 121407 1.jpg

A Geminid meteor in 2007, seen from San Francisco

File:Asteroid Phaethon 25dec2010 stack.jpg

Asteroid (3200) Phaethon, parent body of the Geminids, imaged on December 25, 2010, with the 37 cm F14 Cassegrain telescope of Winer Observatory, Sonoita (MPC 857)

The meteors in this shower appear to come from the radiant in the constellation Gemini (hence the shower's name). However, they can appear almost anywhere in the night sky, and often appear yellowish in hue. Well north of the equator, the radiant rises about sunset, reaching a usable elevation from the local evening hours onwards. In the southern hemisphere, the radiant appears only around local midnight or so. Observers in the northern hemisphere will see higher Geminid rates as the radiant is higher in the sky.<ref name="Meteorwatch2"/> The meteors travel at medium speed in relation to other showers, at about Template:Convert, making them fairly easy to spot. They usually fall apart while at heights above Template:Convert.<ref name="Meteorwatch"/>

File:Meteor falling courtesy NASA.gif

Animated GIF of a Geminid meteor falling earthwards

Timeline

Year	Peak of shower	ZHRmax	Lunar phase<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2006	December 14	115<ref name=IMO2006>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	33% waning crescent
2007	December 15	122<ref name=IMO2007>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	30% waxing crescent
2008	December 14	139<ref name=IMO2008>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	95% full moon
2009	December 13	120<ref name=IMO2009>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	9% new moon
2010	December 14	127<ref name=IMO2010>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	59% first quarter
2011	December 14	198<ref name=IMO2011>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	86% waning gibbous
2012	December 14<ref name=IMO2012P>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	109<ref name=IMO2012>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	2% new moon
2013	December 14<ref name=IMO2013>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	134<ref name=IMO2013b>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	92% full moon
2014	December 14<ref name=IMO2014>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	253<ref name=IMO2014b>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	50% last quarter
2015	December 14	120<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	10% waxing crescent
2016	December 13	25<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	100% full moon
2017	December 14	145<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	13% waning crescent
2018	December 14	Template:Value<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	41% waxing crescent
2019	December 14	120<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	94% waning gibbous
2020	December 13	120<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	2% waning crescent
2021	December 13	Template:Value<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	73% waxing gibbous
2022	December 14	120	72% waning gibbous
2023	December 13	150<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	0% waxing crescent

See also

• List of meteor showers

External links

• Viewing details for the 2015 Geminids Meteor Shower
• Viewing information for the 2015 Geminids meteor shower
• NASA Meteor Watch 2012:
  • Allsky cameras observed 328 bright Geminids – notice how similar they are to the orbit of the asteroid 3200 Phaethon (purple orbit)
  • Composite view of meteors detected in the skies over Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)
  • Spectacular Geminid, brighter than the Full Moon (video 2012-Dec-14 07:28 UT)
  • Meteoroid Environment Office: 53 meteor orbits last night of which 18 were Geminids
• 2004 Geminids
• 2006 Geminids
• ShadowandSubstance.com: Geminids animated for 2010
• "Weird Geminids," NASA, 7 December 2001
• Google group search for Geminids, sorted by date
• Amateur observations of the Geminids
• Triangulation of a Geminid Meteor by Crayford Manor House AS
• ScienceCasts: Rock Comet Meteor Shower (Science@NASA YouTube channel : Nov 29, 2012)
• Geminids at Constellation Guide
• Template:APOD