See EarthSky Community Photos. | Roger Oban in Tucson, Arizona, captured this photo of a Geminid on December 14, 2020. He shot this meteor from his garden. Thanks, Roger!
The 2020 Geminid meteor shower reached its peak around the night of December 13-14 and many reported a wonderful display. For example, veteran meteorite observer Eliot Herman in Tucson, Arizona – who watched on the afternoon of December 13 – wrote:
I had a great night! There were several fireballs and many bright meteors from Sirius [Editor’s note: Sirius is the brightest star in the sky]. I saw 77 in total between 1:30 and 4:00
See photos of the EarthSky community Matthew Schmidt captured several meteorites from Island Beach State Park, USA, on December 13, 2020, stacking 16 shots in a fascinating compound. He wrote: “It was supposed to be a cloudy night off the coast of Jersey. We just called a few hours of clear sky. Great light show! ”. Thanks, Matthew!
See photos of the EarthSky community Kent and Carolyn Carlson captured this meteor over Moraine Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, USA on December 13, 2020. They wrote, “Carolyn and I did a half-mile climb through the snow after dark until a small cliff overlooking Moraine Park.We were rewarded with a spectacular meteorite spectacle, which originated mainly around or through the constellation of Orion in the east.We only spent two hours at the site due to blowing snow and gusting winds “. Thanks, Kent and Carolyn!
Watch on Flickr. | Eliot Herman in Tucson, Arizona, captured this brilliant ball of land grass on December 13, 2020. Thank you, Eliot!
Eddie Irizarry in Puerto Rico captured a small video he shared with us. He commented:
The meteor shower was magnificent!
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But not everyone saw a good show. Bob Holderness-Roddam of Australia did his best to make the save, however. He wrote:
I crawled out of bed at 1am on the morning of the Australian summer solstice Monday morning, got in my car and drove to a relatively dark area, away from the city, just a couple of farmhouse lights in the distance. Excellent view of Beaver and Pollux, as well as Orion and other constellations. But, it bothers all meteors. Five in all from 1:15 to 3:20 am Three rather weak, the other two not particularly bright. Did I do something wrong, or was the planned screen “not presented”?
You did exactly right, Bob. It always happens that the farther you are from the city lights, the more meteors you will see. But this is nature; it always has an unpredictable component. The best thing you can do for any meteor shower is to get away from the city lights, look up, and expect the best. Although the Geminid peak has passed, this meteor shower is expected to remain active until about December 22 this year, according to the American Meteor Society. Do you want to try again?
Check out the wonderful photos of this year’s Geminid meteor shower. Thanks to everyone who has submitted to EarthSky Community Photos.
See EarthSky Community Photos. | Kristian Evar Palac in Lucban, Quezon, Philippines, captured this image on December 15, 2020 during the peak of the Geminid meteor shower. Thanks, Kristian!
See EarthSky Community Photos. | Chirag Bachani captured the images to make this Geminid compound on December 14, 2020. He wrote, “The Geminid meteor shower produced a spectacular spectacle with more than 100 meteors per hour at the peak around 2 p.m. morning, local time Dec. 14. This image shows more than 40 meteors captured overnight from a dark Class 1 Bortle sky in Marathon, Texas.Many of the meteors lasted more than 2 seconds and were typically green and blue, and there’s the Andromeda Galaxy in the center left of the picture. ”Thank you, Chirag!
See EarthSky Community Photos. | Martha Dean, of San Saba County, Texas, captured this photo of a Geminid fireball on December 14, 2020. She wrote: “After the clouds cleared, the sky was full of Geminid meteors. A beautiful cold night in downtown Texas. ”Thank you, Marta!
See EarthSky Community Photos. | Matt Lantz in Palo Pinto County, Texas, captured this photo of 5 Geminids on December 14, 2020. He wrote, “The Geminid meteor shower did not disappoint this year! He was so happy to get several bright meteorites at this location for a short period of time. The shower was amazing, but it was late, it was cold and I was ready to go home. Thanks, Matt!
See EarthSky Community Photos. | David Byers, in the Texas Hill Country, captured this photo of a bright Gemini on December 14, 2020. He wrote: “I went out into a dark sky in the mountainous country. When I started shooting, it was cloudy, but then it cleared about an hour before that shot. ”Thank you, David!
Summary: Some members of the EarthSky community saw a large 2020 Gemini meteor shower and shared their images with us.
