Fireworks in the Sky: New Meteor Shower to Add to the Geminids Spectacle?

With the splendor of the Geminids, there may be an additional bonus this time around! NASA news reports that along with the debris of the 3200 Phaethon, which causes the Geminids meteor shower, there may be another comet – Comet Wirtanen – which can make a significant contribution to the already divine cosmic spectacle.

See our Geminids coverage: http://techie-buzz.com/science/geminids-2012.html

Comet Wirtanen is a relatively recent discovery, discovered only in 1948. It orbits the sun in 5.4 years in a tight enough orbit. The Earth has just not run into the debris left in the wake of the comet passage. Yet!

NASA predicts that 2012 may be different. Remember, maybe! The Earth may be crossing the stream of debris any time between 10th to the 14th of December, coinciding brilliantly with the Geminids meteor shower.

If it happens…

The Wirtanen meteor shower will start early evening, right after sunset. So early evening, you can rendezvous with the Wirtanen, while the Geminids switch on later on! The radiant – or the point in the sky where the meteor shower is supposed to radiate from – will be in the Pisces constellation. That is if the Wirtanen shower happens at all!

If this happens – and this will happen only for the first time – the meteor shower may be christened ‘Piscids’, since it will originate from the Pisces constellation. The Pisces lie just south of the Pegasus constellation, which is easy enough to identify. The Pegasus comprises of four bright stars, arranged in a roughly squarish fashion. Though it may be easy to identify, the Pisces might be difficult to spot from a not-so-dark location, as the stars are pretty dim.

The to-be Piscids are expected to be moving slowly. We have no idea about the frequency as this will be the first time we’ll be seeing them. The same can be said about the brightness.

This weekend is a treat for all sky watching enthusiasts. Even if the Piscids prove to be a no-show, there will always be the Geminids to fall back on.

Once again, best of luck and happy sky watching.

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