How to watch spectacular meteor shower over Australia

Everything you need to know about the ‘king’ of meteor showers this weekend – including the best time to wake up as Australia’s skyline is lit up with hundreds of shooting stars

  •  The ‘king’ of all meteor showers will light up the sky as it peaks on Saturday night to early Sunday morning
  •  The Geminid is one of the most colourful meteor showers and produces the most amount of shooting stars
  •  Astrologers advise gazers to set an alarm and wake up early depending on the peak in their state’s time zone
  • Australians can expect to see 20 to 40 per hour but those close to the northern hemisphere will see more 

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A torrent of shooting stars are set to illuminate skies above Australia this weekend as the ‘king’ of meteor showers creates a spectacular light show.

Those wanting to see the Geminid meteor shower will need to wake in the middle of the night to see a show of 100 to 150 shooting stars – or meteors – per hour.  

The meteor shower occurs as Earth flies through a loop of dust and debris left behind by asteroid 3200 Phaethon, with the annual shower active between December 4 and December 17.

But the main show will take place late on Saturday night and carry through into Sunday morning.   

The Geminid meteor shower (pictured in 2018 falling over China) is intensifying each year distributing a stream of coloured shooting stars across the December sky

WHEN TO WATCH THE METEOR SHOWER 

South Australia: 5.10am, Sunday

NSW: 5.40am, Sunday

Queensland: 4.40am, Sunday

Northern Territory: 4.10am, Sunday 

Western Australia: 2.40am, Sunday

The Geminids provide a colourful light display, as the passing particles are in various stages in their chemical break-down. 

The meteors travel at 20 to 30 kilometres per second – which is actually relatively slow by meteor standards – giving Aussies an opportunity to catch a longer glimpse.  

Astrophysicist Jonti Horner of the University of Southern Queensland recommended eastern state residents should get up early rather than staying up late, the ABC reports. 

‘If people have the freedom to decide whether they observe earlier or observe later, I’d actually say set your alarm for one or two o’clock and stay up until dawn, rather than going out at 9.00pm and staying up until 1.00am.’

The shower will peak at 5.40am Australian Eastern Daylight Time, which is 5.10am in South Australia, 4.40am in Queensland, 4.10 in the Northern Territory and 2.40am in Western Australia. 

As meteors have gradually slowed down, gazers are able to capture the Geminid  (pictured in India in 2017) meteors formore than a couple of seconds

As meteors have gradually slowed down, gazers are able to capture the Geminid  (pictured in India in 2017) meteors formore than a couple of seconds

For those expecting a cloudy Saturday night, the Geminids will still be visible on Friday and Sunday evening. 

The meteor shower can be viewed with the naked eye and no special equipment will be needed to see them at their best and brightest. 

For the best viewing experience, Macquarie University astrophysicist Tayyaba Zafar encourages gazers to start observing at least 30 to 40 minutes before the peak to allow time for eyes to adjust to the darkness.

‘When you just get out and look at the sky you might see only bright stars,’ she said. 

The Geminids, named after their position in the Gemini constellation, occur annually as the earth swims through a stream of asteroid debris and dust (pictured in New York in 2009)

The Geminids, named after their position in the Gemini constellation, occur annually as the earth swims through a stream of asteroid debris and dust (pictured in New York in 2009)

‘By the time your eyes start adapting, you can also start seeing the faint stars which were invisible when you just stepped out.’

Brightness of the full moon will washout the fainter meteors but spectators can still expect to catch 20 to 40 streaking per hour. 

But those further north in Australia will witness more because the Geminids- named after their origin in the Gemini constellation- run across the northern hemisphere. 

Professor Horner said bushfire smoke may block out the fainter meteors and scatter the moonlight but the extravaganza will still be vivid and worth the wake-up. 

Meteors dart across a star littered sky creating lines of vibrant light in Belarus during the 2017 Geminids

Meteors dart across a star littered sky creating lines of vibrant light in Belarus during the 2017 Geminids

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk