king of meteor showers
1:7:41 2023-06-17 701

Astronomers solve the mystery of the king of meteor showers

The Gemini meteor shower begins in mid-December each year, and is often also referred to as the Gemini meteor, or the king of the meteor shower.

Mysteries surrounding the origin of this meteor shower have long puzzled scientists because while most meteor showers originate when a comet produces a tail of ice and dust, Gemini meteors originate from an asteroid, which are chunks of rock and mineral that don't usually produce a tail.

The Gemini meteors come from the constellation of the Gemini (named after the constellation) between the constellations Taurus and Cancer. It is known that these meteor showers originate from an Apollo asteroid (Near-Earth Asteroid Group (NEA)), which is Phaethon (3200 Phaethon), which for some inexplicable reason is influenced by the Sun and leaves a stream across the night sky.

Until recently, Gemini meteors were only studied from Earth. Now, Princeton University scientists have used observations from NASA's Parker Solar Probe mission to better examine the king of the meteor shower. The team concluded that it is likely that the Geminids meteor shower started in a violent and catastrophic event, and that could be a high-speed collision with another object in space, for example, or a gas explosion.

The results of this study were published in The Planetary Science Journal, which narrowed down hypotheses about the formation and history of this asteroid that would explain its unconventional behavior.

"What's really strange is that we know Phaethon is an asteroid, but because it flies so close to the Sun, it seems to have some sort of temperature-driven activity," said Jami Szalay, a researcher at Princeton University's Space Physics Laboratory and a co-author on the paper. Most asteroids don't do it.”

 

Some scientists previously suggested that Phaethon might indeed be a comet, and that it had lost its ice to leave behind just a rocky, asteroid-like core. But the new study shows that the origins of the meteor shower are much more dramatic than that.

Forgive Others   2025-07-23
Reality Of Islam

A Mathematical Approach to the Quran

10:52:33   2024-02-16  

mediation

2:36:46   2023-06-04  

what Allah hates the most

5:1:47   2023-06-01  

allahs fort

11:41:7   2023-05-30  

striving for success

2:35:47   2023-06-04  

Imam Ali Describes the Holy Quran

5:0:38   2023-06-01  

livelihood

11:40:13   2023-05-30  

silence about wisdom

3:36:19   2023-05-29  

Gold remains perfectly solid wh

read more

MOST VIEWS

Importance of Media

9:3:43   2018-11-05

Illuminations

your thoughts

8:15:37   2023-02-16

good people

11:34:48   2022-06-29

noah & his ark

7:59:14   2018-06-21

friendship

2:42:26   2023-02-02

strong personality

10:43:56   2022-06-22

life temptations

10:35:40   2022-05-26

be yourself.

8:30:23   2022-03-03



IMmORTAL Words
LATEST The Intellectuals Need to Understand the Demands of the Majority Common Understanding of Patience Interpretation of Sura Maryam (Mary) - Verses 1-3 Washing Your Hands Is Even More Important in Summer. Here is Why. The Perseids Meteor Shower Peaks This Week: Here is When to Look Up Scientists Discovered This Amazing Practical Use for Leftover Coffee Grounds Reforming Society and Culture Introduction of Surah Maryam Overall, Views About Patience Just One High-Fat Meal Can Disrupt Blood Flow to Your Brain, Study Finds Release of ChatGPT-5 Beginning of a New Era for Humanity Giant Stick Insect Found Hiding in Rainforest May Be Australias Heaviest