Russians are in for the most powerful meteor shower of the year

      Up to 120 'falling stars' per hour are expected during this period, the press service of the Moscow Planetarium reported.

      The planetarium reminded that December — the month of the longest nights — despite capricious weather, offers a rare opportunity to see one of the brightest annual meteor showers.

      "The month of the longest nights usually doesn't treat us to clear skies. Yet it is precisely in December that one can observe a powerful giant meteor shower from the constellation Gemini — the famous Geminids, which surpass all other annual meteor showers in the number of 'falling stars', including the August Perseids," the Moscow Planetarium specialists emphasized.

      The shower's radiant — the area of sky from which the meteors seem to emanate — is located in the constellation Gemini. The Geminids are linked to the unusual object 3200 Phaethon, discovered in 1983, which has characteristics of both an asteroid and a comet.

      In addition to the Geminids, the Ursids will also be active in December — another annual shower whose peak is expected on the night of December 22. However, its intensity is considerably more modest — about 10 meteors per hour. The radiant of the Ursids is in the constellation Ursa Minor, and they can only be observed from the Northern Hemisphere.