At first astronomers were not sure if the object was an asteroid or a comet.
Asteroids are conventionally thought to form from rock in the warmer, inner areas of the solar system, while comets are made of rock and ice in colder, more distant regions.
On the surface 3200 Phaethon looks like a rocky asteroid. But an asteroid that creates meteor showers like a comet would be an extremely rare find.
Most astronomers now believe the Geminids' source is an extinct comet thats collected a thick outer layer of interplanetary dust—a comet in an asteroid's clothes.
Best Seats
The Geminid shower wasn't always such a spectacular show. Viewers of its first appearance more than a century ago recorded only 10 to 20 meteors an hour.
What's more, the Geminids approach Earth at the relatively slow speed of 22 miles (35 kilometers) a second.
By comparison, November's annual Leonid shower speeds through our atmosphere at about 44 miles (71 kilometers) a second.
But the December display has been increasingly outcompeting all other yearly meteor showers, experts say.
The best places to watch will be in central Asia and eastward, across the Pacific Ocean to Alaska.
Stellar performances will be visible six to ten hours around the precise peak on December 14 at 11:45 a.m. EST, astronomers say, so stargazers in North America will get almost as good a show.
As for 3200 Phaethon's co-discoverer Green, he says cloudy skies over the U.K. have prevented him from seeing the Geminids in most years.
When he does catch a glimpse, he said, "I just stand and watch and think of the little bits of 'my' asteroid that are burning up in the skies above."
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