The 2016 Geminids Meteor Shower, Colorado
If you feel like New Year’s Eve fireworks are getting a bit passé, then you may want to tune into the Geminids Meteor Shower instead.
A quick road trip Glenworth Valley in the Central Coast region of New South Wales will give you the best viewing spot from which to enjoy the astral spectacle.
The phenomenon occurs annually as the earth passes through the remnants of an ancient asteroid, with about 120 meteors per hour hitting the earth’s atmosphere and in showers of light.
Experts recommend viewers in the southern hemisphere begin looking out for bright lights in the mid-to-late evening – Geminid showers tend to consist of bright, fast meteors that persist longer in the night sky than other showers.
Geminids Meteor Shower photographed over Scotland in 2016 during the final day of visibility
Another stunning annual meteor event is the Perseid meteor shower (photographed in Spain)
Local astronomers and night sky photographers David Magro and Andrew Murrell told the Daily Telegraph there were about a dozen ‘decent’ meteor events a year, but the Geminids Meteor Shower was ‘one of the best three’.
The stunning display will be visible as early as December 4, but is predicted to peak in Australia on December 14.
The astral display occurs as the earth travels through a trail of debris left behind by the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, which is more than 5km wide.
The ‘shooting stars’ are made as chunks of the asteroid burn while entering the earth’s atmosphere, bathed in light by Gemini’s second brightest star Castor.
Last year’s shower was difficult to see due to the position of the moon, but Mr Margo and Mr Murrell said that his year, ‘the heavens had aligned’ so that 2017’s shower promises to be one of the best yet.
The spectacle is visible to the naked eye, but people need to find a dark spot that is well away from streetlights and other light pollution.
The best spot in NSW to take it in is the Glenworth Valley Outdoor Adventures campsite – an isolated spot on the Central Coast where Mr Murrell will be setting up telescopes for campers on December 9.
He told the Daily Telegraph that he wanted to inspire ‘a whole new generation of amateur astronomers and night sky photographers’.
Geminids Meteor Shower photographed over Primorye Territory in Russia in December 2016
People from all countries gather together to see the Geminids Meteor Shower (Bulgaria, 2016)
‘There’s a rebirth of the space age,’ Mr Magro told the publication. ‘It’s becoming more accessible.’
He was the 2017 Exposure Photographer of the Year with his image ‘Field of Stars’, which was also taken at Glenworth Valley.
‘In years past you couldn’t take a shot with a camera and now every camera you can plonk out and get a good Milky Way shot. The sensors are getting better all the time.
‘Now you can literally have [space] in the palm of your hand.’