The Geminids will begin appearing this week from a radiant located at
7:08 (107) +33. This area of the sky lies in Northern Gemini some 4
degrees northwest of the bright star Castor (Alpha Geminorum). Current
rates would be quite low with only 1-2 meteors appearing each hour.
Rates will slowly rise as the week progresses perhaps reaching rates of
30 per hour on Thursday morning December 13. The peak is the following
night when rates may top 100 per hour from dark sites. The Geminids are
best seen between 0100 and 0200 when the radiant lies highest in the
sky. Geminids may be seen from the Southern Hemisphere at a much reduced
rate due to the low radiant altitude from that vantage point. The
Geminids are of medium velocity when seen far from the radiant and high
in the sky. Like all meteors, they will appear to move slower if seen
close to the radiant or low in the sky. The Geminids are noted for their
vividly colored fireballs which should appear in abundance near
maximum activity. The Geminids are also the only major annual shower
known to be produced by an asteroid (1980 TB). This fact has only been