Starlovers watch the Geminids meteor shower, one of the brightest displays in night sky

A product of debris from the unusual asteroid 3200 Phaethon, the Geminid meteor showers at their peak can produce approximately up to 120 shooting stars per hour

Sky-enthusiasts all over the world were able to capture the Geminid meteor shower, an annual spectacle which peaks each year in mid-December. Active for around a fortnight, the shower peaked on the evening of December 14.

A product of debris from the unusual asteroid 3200 Phaethon, the Geminid meteor showers at their peak can produce approximately up to 120 shooting stars per hour. 

But light from this year’s bright waning gibbous moon interfered with visibility.

The Geminids are fragments of a rock comet. Our Solar System is full of debris, left behind from when the planets formed. That debris includes comets and near-Earth asteroids – objects whose orbits around the Sun cross that of Earth itself.

The parent of the Geminids is an asteroid called 3200 Phaethon; its extremely elongated orbit around the Sun takes it in closer than Mercury, and out beyond the orbit of Mars. With each lap, the temperatures on Phaethon vary dramatically – from extreme cold (below -100 degree celsius) to extreme heat (above 750 degree celsius) and back again.

The rocks on Phaethon expand and contract with the heat, causing shards of debris to go out into space. Over thousands of years, that debris has spread around Phaethon’s orbit, creating a vast “tube”. We go through that debris each December as we move around the Sun, and it ablates (often described as “burning up”, though no fire is involved) high in our atmosphere, giving birth to the Geminid meteor shower.

Many took to social media to share images and videos of this unique astronomical phenomenon. Here’s a look at some of the best images: