Tail end of Geminids meteor shower ushers in ‘Cold Moon’, naked-eye planets

Composite image with background photo by Cybrain/iStock/Getty Images Plus; overlay image by Angelinast/iStock/Getty Images Plus | St. George News

ST. GEORGE — The Geminid meteor shower will be on the tail end (no pun intended) of its show Friday, and Southern Utah has a front-row seat to one of the best celestial spectacles of 2021, followed by the “Cold Moon,” which is the last full moon of the year, and a spectacular planetary alignment.

Geminid meteor shower map | Image courtesy of NASA, St. George News

Friday night into early Saturday morning, the Earth’s rotation turns St. George to face optimally toward the direction of the Geminid meteors, which will rain vertically downwards, producing short trails close to the radiant point and longer trails further away. These bright streaks of light emerge from an asteroid dubbed “3200 Phaethon” discovered nearly four decades ago and which is sailing through the Gemini constellation, ergo the name of the event.

Geminids are fast – really fast. These debris-filled rockets travel at more than 78,000 mph – which is roughly 135 times faster than a commercial jet and 40 times faster than a speeding bullet as they dart all over the night sky.

The Geminids peak each year on the night of Dec. 13-14 and tend to be few and far between during the early evening, but as the night wears on, the activity increases until peak hours starting at 2 a.m. MTD.

During the shower’s peak this year, the skies across Southern Utah went from partly cloudy on Monday and developed into a heavy storm by Tuesday evening, making it nearly impossible to see the shower’s peak taking place above the thick cloud cover.

Illustration of Orion’s Belt where Geminid meteor shower originates from | Image courtesy of Space.com, St. George News

The constellation Gemini is located near the Orion Belt, which is easy to recognize by the three bright stars dubbed Mintaka, Alnilam and Alnitak.

Orion is a winter constellation in the northern hemisphere and is visible from sundown until the sun dips below the horizon in the early hours of the morning. Just below Orion’s Belt, there is a hazy patch known as the Orion Nebula, a stunning sight, NASA says, when viewed through either binoculars or a telescope.

The final night of the shower will take place amid a waxing gibbous moon, which is an intermediate phase of the moon that starts right after the first quarter when the illumination is at 50%.

Best seat in the house

To view the Geminids, find a spot well away from city or street lights, and be prepared for a chilly night, with temperatures expected to hover just above 25 degrees in St. George. Lie flat on your back with your feet facing south, and while looking up, taking in as much of the sky as possible.

The meteors will all trace back to the radiant point near the bright star known as Castor in the constellation Gemini, according to the American Meteor Society.

Zion National Park is a great setting to view the Geminids in as well. The best viewing locations at the park include the Pa’rus Trail and the Human History Museum patio, where park officials say “all you need to view the Geminids is a clear sky, warm clothing, and patience.”

2021 ends with a “Cold Moon” and naked-eye planets

“Antares” (top left) a red supergiant star that is showcasing near Mars during December, April 17, 2012 | Image courtesy of NASA, St. George News

On Saturday, the final full moon of 2021 – referred to as the “Cold Moon” is scheduled to make an appearance shortly after 9:30 p.m. MST, and will continue to hover over the planet until it drops below the horizon at about 2:30 a.m. MST on Sunday.

During ancient times, it was common to track the changing seasons by following the patterns of the moon, or lunar months, rather than using the solar year, which is what the modern day calendar is based upon.

Most of the full moons in times past were related to the frigid temperatures and darkness present in December, and while the most common name for this full moon is the Cold Moon, it was also known as the Long Night Moon.

Saturday’s full moon will also usher in winter constellations, as well as three “naked-eye planets” – Jupiter, Saturn and Venus – according to Space.com. And toward the end of the month, Mercury will pop up just above the southwest horizon near Venus.

Mars and the dying red supergiant – Antares

A fifth planet, Mars, will also leave its temporary hideout near the sun where it has been vacationing for months and will emerge in the early morning sky near the bright red star Antares, the brightest star in the constellation Scorpio located in the southern sky.

Antares is referred to as a red supergiant and is roughly 850 times the diameter of the Sun and 10,000 times brighter.

According to scientists, the star is in its death throes and is continuously shedding material into space. Once it has used up all of its hydrogen fuel, within the next 10,000 years or so, it will collapse and explode into a supernova – “with a brightness that will rival that of the rest of the galaxy put together,” NASA says.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!