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Stargazers’ delight Geminids meteor shower to peak early Thursday morning, astronomers say

According to the experts, up to 150 meteors per hour are to be seen under perfect conditions

MOSCOW, December 13. /TASS/. The Geminids, the year’s biggest meteor shower, will peak on the night of December 13-14, the Moscow Planetarium told TASS.

The Geminids are generated by a space rock, 3200 Phaethon, which has characteristics of both a comet and an asteroid. It produces a cloud of bits and pieces that burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere as our planet passes through them in its orbit, thus producing meteors, or bright flashes in the sky. The resulting meteor shower, which is active from late November, peaks in mid-December.

"This is a beautiful giant meteor shower, producing more shooting stars than the other meteor showers, including the Perseids, which are active in August. <…> The Geminids are best viewed above the southern horizon across Russia. The meteor shower is expected to peak on the night of December 13-14, with up to 150 meteors per hour to be seen under perfect conditions," astronomers said.

However, the weather forecast for the early morning hours of Thursday in Moscow includes clouds and snow, the Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Rosgidromet) said on its website.

The meteor shower was discovered in the late 19th century. The radiant, or source from where the Geminds appear to originate, is the constellation Gemini. The optimal time to view them is around 2:00 a.m. Moscow time (11:00 p.m. GMT).

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