Geminid Meteor Shower Peaks 2020 DEC 13-14

[CentaurZ]

The annual Geminid Meteor Shower may already be underway. It is expected to peak during the night of 2020 DEC 13-14. Its radiant is in the constellation Gemini. That is the direction toward which the meteor tails point, but the meteors are equally likely to appear anywhere in your sky. The Geminids are debris from the asteroid 3200 Phaethon.

The Geminids have been presenting an increasingly intense shower in recent years. At the peak between 120 and 160 meteors per hour may be seen by some sharp-eyed folks. The show begins after Gemini rises in the early evening and intensifies until morning twilight. Although observers south of the tropics will have to wait until midnight. The waning crescent  Moon during the shower’s peak this year should not provide interference.

Descriptions of the shower or perhaps even lucky photos would be welcome additions to this thread. 

 

Edited December 10, 2020 by CentaurZ

[happy-kat]

Ooo like to capture these. I'll see if it's the right direction out the window and set the camera up to run for 3-4 hours.

[MartinHiggins]

Good grief, it looks as though we have a break in the clouds on Saturday!

Clear skies

[AstroNebulee]

9 hours ago, happy-kat said:

Ooo like to capture these. I'll see if it's the right direction out the window and set the camera up to run for 3-4 hours.

I shall also try out the bedroom window with the dslr setup, if the sky clears, maybe briefly on Sunday night, so will get the intervalometer going with my dslr and tripod and 18-55mm kit lens around 15 second exposures? 

[happy-kat]

Sounds about right for 18mm. Sort infinity focus out during the day, back button focus and setting lens to MF saves muck ups I've found.

[Les Ewan]

A rare gap in the cloud at 01:30 showed brisk Geminid activity mainly in the Monoceros,Leo,Hydra area  of meteors between 1st and 3rd magnitude.As clouds invaded again I started a mini count between 02:00 and 02:15 in which I saw 8 Geminids three of which were of about zero magnitude the first was through Monoceros/Puppis,the second in the NE through Bootes and one in the bowl of Virgo.

It may be worth while checking for increased activity nearer dawn if clouds permit,unfortunately Atlantic fronts are on their way.😩

[Paul M]

I had a couple of clear hours around midnight and set up an ASI178 camera with a cheap 2.5mm semi fish eye lens on a tripod taking 30sec exposures until the clouds rolled in.

My location wasn't best, a large industrial complex with much external lighting and floodlights. I could turn some off which improved things slightly.

While setting up focus I saw one bright Geminid on screen but it was a live frame not a saved image and that was my only capture. 

I spotted a bright meteor by eye but when I checked the image being taken at the time it didn't show. 

The forecast isn't great for tomorrow night and I'll be less likely to get chance to set up the camera anyway. 

[Ibbo!]

I fired up the meteor scatter as I was about to hit the sack and recorded these.

pity I can't see to get the conditional actions to work and record while I get some kip.

 

Mores the pity I am not as young and fit as I used to be and up in N Yorks camping watching them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jarralad58]

i got these last night,picking signal up from graves.between 9pm and midnight a lot of hits

[pete_l]

Well, my meteor monitor (the tin-can cam 'cos it's built into a tin can) started at 9 p.m. local time and scored a hit three minutes later.

However after ah hour that remains the only one ;(

I offer this for your consideration. Snapped through high clouds in my Andalucian skies

North is up, Taurus to the left, Cassiopeia top/mid

Edited December 13, 2020 by pete_l

[bingevader]

Just seen a few crackers!

Went to put the rubbish out and there was a big break in the clouds.

Saw half a dozen with a couple of really long slow burners.

Fantastic!

[theropod]

Huge snowflakes are mixing with light rain. The rain is slowly changing over to the white stuff. It will be dark in less than an hour. About 4” is expected on the ground by dawn. Had my gear ready, batteries charged and such. Oh well, summer night Persids will be back.

[Trentend]

Some absolute crackers here in Edinburgh. Managed 20 minutes viewing with the family in the backyard seeing around 10 in that time. One in particular I genuinely thought was a firework someone had let off with an ultra bright head and very long tail. Incredible. Just about made up for the appalling weather we’ve had here since end September. 

Edited December 13, 2020 by Trentend

[Trentend]

Now raining. Grrrrr.

[IB20]

Stood in the garden for half an hour and clocked about six. A lovely show!

[scotty1]

Lucky cloud breaks between midnight and 3am,using sat24 cloud cover map it seemed to work well. 

Between changing batteries and suffering with headcold/vertigo I casually saw 58 meteors, a new record 4me in one night. On Saturday night I saw 12 meteors, two bright. Only a couple of meteors on camera,may have a look tonight if it's clearish.

Edited December 14, 2020 by scotty1

[AstroNebulee]

Just been through my 400 odd images from my dslr and got one Geminid going past. I've still got to check the footage from the asi120mc-s yet so may better in that one. It was so cloudy lsdt might abd only a few brief spells of clear skies here in North Cornwall. Will try again tonight as may be a bit clearer. Just got to work out how to create a animated gif with my version of photoshop 

Edited December 14, 2020 by LeeHore7

[Ouroboros]

I’ve just seen three in the space of 20 minutes or so. The first one I was looking at the Triangulum Galaxy through bins when a meteor streaked through the field of view. Incredibly bright and decidedly yellow coloured. I think that’s the first time I have caught sight of a bright meteor through binoculars.  I have seen the occasional faint one. 

[scotty1]

Clear skies 1-2am i spotted six Geminids, and got one on camera, Saturday night I saw a green flash in the east when it was cloudy, could've been a Geminid. 

 

The weather is no good for meteor spotting in the next two days hereabouts, the Ursids are due to peak Tuesday am. Does anyone bother observing the Ursids? 

Edited December 20, 2020 by scotty1