Sand August has its night of San Lorenzo, at Christmas the sky gives no less emotions: with the arrival of Geminidsin fact, in December you can attend a spectacular shower of “shooting stars”.. This year the maximum peak will occur on the night between Wednesday 13th and Thursday 14th and in terms of beauty these meteors can easily compete with the so-called summer “Tears of San Lorenzo”.
Rain of shooting stars, the Geminids arrive
The brilliant streaks of light will cut the firmament during the week, but all those whose passion for the stars will conquer cold and sleep, you will be able to enjoy an incredible show. As always, the indications for seeing them at their best are given by the UAI, the Union of Italian Amateur Astronomers: the maximum peak of meteors, as we said, will be observable on the night between 13 and 14 December and the best time should be around 2am on Thursday 14th. This year, however, the New Moon in December occurs at 12.32 minutes on Wednesday the 13th, meaning that the sky will be completely dark.
The Geminids, a spectacular meteor shower will peak between December 13 and 14 (Getty)
The origin of the Geminids
The Geminid meteor shower is so named because it appears to come from the constellation Gemini (Gemini) and therefore takes its name from their radiant. In reality, it comes from fragments left behind by the asteroid 3200 Phaeton, but whether it is really a real asteroid has not yet been defined with certainty. According to NASAit is possible that Phaethon is a “dead comet” or a new type of object that astronomers are discussing, called a “rock comet”, meaning that it has lost its icy layer due to continuous close passes with the Sun.
Heavy jackets and eyes rolling
So as not to miss the last opportunity in 2023 to make a wish all you have to do is cover yourself well and raise your eyes to the sky: just choose a dark place and look towards the constellation Gemini. If the sky conditions are particularly favourable, it will be possible to spot them with the naked eye up to 100 shooting stars per hour.
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