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Shooting Stars
Photograph by Babak Tafreshi, TWAN
Shooting stars from the annual Geminid meteor shower zip across the night sky above the Zagros Mountains in Iran early Tuesday.
The Geminids peaked earlier this week with dozens of meteors falling per hour, delighting sky-watchers around the world lucky enough to enjoy the spectacle via clear skies.
In the United States, between about 12:30 and 4:30 a.m., as many as three to five meteors per minute were seen, with multiple meteors witnessed simultaneously at times, according to sky-watcher David Harvey, who viewed the show from Kitt Peak, outside Tucson, Arizona.
"Although I did not make an effort to accurately count the number of meteors I saw, I would estimate that the rate peaked at 120 or better [per hour] from my location," Harvey said.
Meteors are the result of mostly sand grain-size particles entering Earth's atmosphere at high speed. A quick streak of light—or "shooting star"—results when these particles burn up and superheat the air around them. (Take a solar system quiz.)
A meteor shower occurs when the Earth passes through debris clouds, causing tons of this cosmic dust to rain down on Earth.
—Andrew Fazekas
Published December 16, 2010
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Little Star of Sweden
Photograph by P-M Heden, TWAN
A Geminid meteor bursts above a thousand-year-old Viking church in Vallentuna, Sweden, on December 14.
The annual December shower is considered one of the most reliable and productive of the dozen major meteor events each year. (See "Perseid Pictures: Meteor Shower Dazzles Every August.")
This year's fireworks show was especially good, thanks to the moon setting just before the Geminids' peak, leaving behind dark skies in the predawn hours of Tuesday. (Learn about the phases of the moon.)
Published December 16, 2010
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California Stars
Photograph by Dennis Mammana, TWAN
Seen from southern California's Anza-Borrego Desert, a flurry of meteors dart around the well-known Big Dipper star formation on December 14.
Six Geminid meteors were photographed within 45 minutes in this small slice of sky during the peak hours of the event.
As the Geminids have become more bright and intense in recent decades, the December spectacle now outshines the more famous August Perseids as the sky show of the year for many sky-watchers.
(See "Intense Geminid Meteor Shower Peaks Sunday.")
Published December 16, 2010
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Valley of Fire
Photograph by Ethan Miller, Getty Images
A lone Geminid meteor appears to plummet in front of a rock formation in the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada in the early morning hours of December 14.
Hitting Earth's atmosphere at speeds of almost 100,000 miles (160,000 kilometers) an hour, meteors burn up and produce streaks of light that each last just a fraction of a second.
(Also see "'Major,' Green Meteor Lights Midwest Night Sky.")
Published December 16, 2010
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Orange Flash
Photograph by Amir Abolfath, TWAN
A shooting star brightens orange-tinted skies above Iran's Zagros Mountains on December 14.
While most meteors streaking across the atmosphere are caused by tiny particles, the Geminids are known for producing fireballs or bolides, which are baseball- to basketball-size stones.
(See "Fireball Picture: Meteor Explodes Over the Netherlands.")
Published December 16, 2010
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