Google dedicates doodle to Geminid meteor shower, to follow its path through the sky

Today's Google Doodle celebrates one of the most exciting astronomical events that almost anyone can enjoy for themselves - the Geminid meteor shower.

The Geminids produce shooting stars in the night sky that will be visible and for the next few nights. The Google Doodle will track the Geminids as they pass through the sky.

The asteroid named after Greek God Apollo’s son, 3200 Phaethon’s orbit brings it closer to our sun than Mercury.




Flying through the sky at 78,000 mph the Geminids don't pose a risk to earth. These small fragments burn up high in the atmosphere above us, giving the beautiful impression of shooting stars.

What causes the Geminid meteor shower?
The Geminid meteor shower is caused by a 3-mile-wide asteroid called 3200 Phaethon which does a reasonably close flyby of Earth every 523 days. Due to the proximity to the sun, it heats up to almost 800 degrees Celsius and then flies through Earth's orbit shedding material from its surface.

3200 Phaethon is interesting because it's not believed to be a comet, but rather an asteroid. It is made of metal and rock, rather than ice, dust and rock.

Last year was the closest pass of 3200 Phaethon but supermoon made it tricky to see the resulting meteor shower.

How to see the Geminid meteor shower?
In order to witness the meteor shower today, there is no need for a telescope or binoculars; fragments from Phaethon’s debris trail will become visible after 9 pm, peaking a little after midnight, with as many as 120 meteors per hour.

The comic dust may have resulted from a crash with another flying object, but there’s little danger of any Geminids landing on earth as it normally disintegrates in the earth’s atmosphere.