Many sparkling stars adorn this glorious winter night sky. A bright meteorite streaks across the night sky, slicing through the Winter Triangle. It is one of the Geminids, a meteor shower centered around December 14. The two bright stars lined up near the zenith mark the constellation Gemini, the radiant point of this meteor shower. With numerous meteors, the Geminids are considered one of the three major meteor showers of the year. Because the radiant point is in the sky almost the entire night, it is a meteor shower where the meteors are easy to spot. Especially since for 2015 the peak activity will occur around midnight in Japan, at a time when there won’t be any moonlight either, we should have splendid conditions for enjoying the meteor shower.

Text by: Seiichiro Naito (NAOJ Public Relations Center)
Translation by: Ramsey Lundock (NAOJ)