The Geminid meteor shower is expected to peak overnight on December 13 into December 14
Stargazers can anticipate a spectacular show of shooting stars on Friday night, as a meteor shower is set to illuminate the night sky. The Geminid meteor shower, which returns every December, is expected to peak some time during the night of December 13 and will be visible until the early morning of December 14. The Geminids originate from a rocky asteroid called 3200 Phaethon with a comet-like orbit and were first observed in 1862.
This leads to streaks of light that are also known as shooting stars. According to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Geminids are unusual as they can be multi-coloured – mainly white, some yellow and a few green, red and blue. These colours are partly caused by the presence of traces of metals like sodium and calcium, the same effect that is used to make fireworks colourful, experts at the Royal Observatory said.
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