one of the most beautiful showers of shooting stars of the year to see these days, how to observe it

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The month of December is the scene of many enchantments, with the highlight being the Christmas festivities. Fir trees and garlands of all kinds adorn the streets of cities, giving them a magical appearance. After a certain hour, the lights go out to give way to darkness.

But not at the moment: Geminids shooting star shower began to fall overhead, with peak intensity expected on the night of Friday December 13 to Saturday December 14, 2024, where up to 150 stars per hour are expected. Which represents more than two potentially red, green or blue cars per minute. One of the most beautiful showers of shooting stars of the year.

Slower than other showers of shooting stars: and that's good news

In many ways, the Geminid rain is special. And it begins with the fact that it “probably originated in a asteroid3200 Phaeton, rather than a comet, even if it is still debated”, clarifies withactu.fr Gilles Dawidowicz, vice-president of the Astronomical Society of France (SAF).

That's not all. The dust that ignites in our atmosphere is slower than during other shooting star showers: around 35 km/s, compared to around 50 km/s for the others. “In other words, there will be more likely to see themand they risk having more persistence,” enthuses the vice-president.

They come from the northeast, and more precisely from the constellation Gemini. However, you will have to look everywhere in the sky.

“This is even where it can be more spectacular: the trails are longer. A bit like when it rains when you're in a car: the drops rush down the windshield at full speed, and take longer to fall from the side windows,” explained Nicolas Biver, president of the comet commission at the SAF, during the Perseid rain, in July 2023.

It is from 2 a.m. that they will be most visible, on the night of Friday the 13th to Saturday the 14th. Even if from the beginning of the month of December, and until approximately the 21st (the same day as the solstice, by coincidence), we will also be able to see it sparkle in the dark night.

The clouds and the moon could well come and play spoilsport

To put yourself in the best conditions, we give you the same advice as usual, namely:

• get away from all light pollution
• give your eyes time to adjust to the darkness
• cover up (we are in the middle of meteorological winter)
• be patient

Unfortunately, the 2024 Geminids could well be somewhat spoiled by the weather: the models do not predict anything good for the night of peak intensity, with cloudy skies almost everywhere in France.

In the map below, here are the forecasts for the cloud layers expected during the night from Friday to Saturday (the more the color turns white, the thicker the clouds are), via Météociel:

“Especially since it almost coincides with the full moonthe 15″, adds, disappointed, Gilles Dawidowicz. The latter will get up around 3 p.m. on Friday afternoon and go to bed around 8 a.m. on Saturday morning, depending on the location.

In other words, it will shine brightly all night long. Which can pose a problem for observing shooting stars. On the very serious Vigie-ciel site, Karl Antier, from the SAF, therefore recommends looking towards the north, with our backs to our satellite. “The region located between the tail of the Little Bear and the head of the Big Bear is particularly favorable and well placed for a large part of the night. »

Another little tip is to hide the Moon with a relief or a building. And if that's not possible, putting on a cap and orienting it so as to hide the star is not such a bad idea: “the observation will be much more comfortable and much less tiring”, continues the expert. .

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