How to watch the most incredible meteor shower of the year "Geminid"

Artistic impression of a meteor shower

 The Geminid meteor shower has come to its peak in 12,13 December 2017 and you might be wondering how to watch this glamorous event.Following is a basic guide.

What is a meteor shower?

No it's not a typical shower

A meteor shower occurs when many small space rocks enter our atmosphere burning their way through the night sky.This is known as a shooting star  and on a normal night, you might be able to see some shooting stars too.Especially during a meteor shower, you may be able to see many shooting stars, sometimes 150-200 per hour.This is because a meteor shower occurs when the earth is moving through a leftover debris of a comet.In Geminid we are traveling through comet  3200 Phaethon 's tale.This ear this comet is located very close to earth so many meteors are expected.

When/At what time I should watch the sky?

Gemini constellation

This year peak of the meteor shower is on 14 th of December means around that day you might be able

to see more meteors.But remember this is not a one night only show so you will have a chance until the end of next week.

The best time to watch a meteor shower is after 1am that means early in the morning.Actually, a meteor shower has an epicenter, constellation Gemini is the epicenter of this meteor shower so it is called"Geminid meteor shower".

Where/Which direction to watch?

Epicentre of the meteor shower lies near star Castor, which is a bright star in Gemini

Epicentre, where meteor seems to originate from is the best direction to watch for in this case the direction of Constellation Gemini.These days Gemini will be located to the east in the morning.However, for bright meteors, you should look directly above so you may see a meteor when it is in it's brightest moment.

What equipment do I need?

Sitting in a chair will help a lot to rest your head.

No equipment needed it will be great if you have a chair with a neck rest so you can gaze without hurting your neck.A binocular with a large field of view may be great if you want to see faint meteors.A telescope will be useless unless you are really lucky so a meteor will pass across the small field of your scope.Select a place with few street lights and let your eyes to adjust to the dark.Make sure to wear some winter clothes unless you are planning to freeze to death while watching meteors.