Photos: Geminid Meteor Shower of December 2011

Geminid Meteor Photographed by Daniel Stanyer, December 2011

Daniel Stanyer

Astrophotographer Dan Stanyer described taking this image: "I decided to brave the cold (-10'C) to try and watch the Geminid Meteor Shower tonight. I am certainly happy I did. As soon as I got out of the car I saw a long slow one streaking across the sky. Not long after that I saw a fireball, with smaller pieces breaking off it. Of course the camera was pointing in the other direction when that one happened. But then I saw this one. It was long and slow - visible for almost a full second. Right away I looked over at the camera to see if the shutter was open or not. It was a long wait to the end of the 15 second exposure from there. I was very excited to see that I had captured the entire thing, and called it a night right there. Although I might have to go back out, as the show is just supposed to start peaking at 10pm. All in all I saw 21 in the hour I was out, with 12 of those the slow streaking kind, 9 dimmer faster ones, and the one fireball. Its been a great couple days with the lunar eclipse and now this meteor show."

Geminid Meteor Over Hungary

Monika Landy-Gyebnar

This photo of a Geminid meteor was taken Dec. 14, 2011, over Veszprem, Hungary.

Geminid Meteors Composite Photo by Mike Hankey

Mike Hankey

Astrophotographer Mike Hankey in Freeland, MD, said: "I set up my camera around 8:00 PM [Dec. 13, 2011] and photographed continuously through the night. The sky was clear until about 2:00 am and then covered with clouds for the rest of the evening. I was able to catch a total of 11 meteors in that 6 hour window. That’s pretty good considering there was a near full moon for most of the evening."

Geminid Meteors and Bright Moon

John Chumack

Using his south sky video camera, amateur astronomer John Chumack captured Geminids streaking across the Winter Triangle and Orion on December 9th 2011. The best nights to watch for the shower are December 13th through the 15th.

Geminid Meteor Shower - Alabama

Tommy Mosley

Skywatcher Tommy Mosley took this picture of the Geminid meteor shower from the Black Warrior River in Oak Grove, Alabama.

Early Geminid Fireball 2011

NASA Meteoroid Environment Office

An early Geminid fireball recorded on Dec. 11th by a NASA meteor network camera in Tennessee.

Geminid Meteor Shower, Marshall Space Flight Center

NASA

A NASA all-sky camera in Chickamauga, Ga. caught this view of a Geminid meteor during the annual December shooting star show's peak on Dec. 13, 2011.

Geminid Meteor Over Hungary

Monika Landy-Gyebnar

This photo of a Geminid meteor was taken by skywatcher Monika Landy-Gyebnar Dec. 14, 2011, over Veszprem, Hungary.

Geminids 2011 Sky Map

Tony Phillips

Sky map of the Geminid meteor shower, Dec. 13-14, 2011.

Geminid Meteor Over Hungary

Monika Landy-Gyebnar

This photo of a Geminid meteor was taken by skywatcher Monika Landy-Gyebnar Dec. 14, 2011, over Veszprem, Hungary.

Geminid Meteor Over Hungary

Monika Landy-Gyebnar

This photo of a Geminid meteor was taken by skywatcher Monika Landy-Gyebnar Dec. 14, 2011, over Veszprem, Hungary.

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