This photo taken late Dec. 14, 2018, with a long time exposure shows a meteor streaking through the night sky over Myanmar during the Geminids meteor shower seen from Wundwin township near Mandalay city.
Ye Aung Thu/AFP via Getty Images
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Ye Aung Thu/AFP via Getty Images
Turn your attention skyward Saturday evening and you should be able to catch the peak of the annual Geminids meteor shower.
The yellow dancing streaks light up the night sky every December with meteors zipping through the heavens at a rate of 120 an hour, according to NASA.
Stargazers in the Northern Hemisphere will have the best view, but the meteor shower will be visible in the Southern Hemisphere as well.
Most meteor showers are the debris left behind from comets — large, tailed blobs of ice and dust. But the Geminids shower originates from Asteroid 3200 Phaethon — a relatively small (3.17 miles across) — celestial oddity that scientists are still trying to understand.
Asteroids differ from comets in that asteroids are rocky metallic masses typically found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, while comets are typically mostly ice.
According to NASA, Phaethon, the source of the Geminids, however, is potentially a “dead comet” or even a new discovery they call a “rock comet.”
Regardless of how science would define its source, if you’re skywatching on Saturday, lie flat on your back outside with your feet facing south. After about 30 minutes in the dark, you should be able to see the dazzles of the Geminids, lasting until dawn.
