The sky lives these days the last shower of stars of the year, the Geminids, the most famous meteoric phenomenon of the month of December that can be seen until Saturday. This phenomenon can be enjoyed at midnight during the 14, 15 and 16 days of this month, although its high point will be lived this Thursday.
This year, the vision of the Geminids is favored by the delay of the next new moon, scheduled for December 18. To the favorable conditions that the sky presents, it is added that, in the Marina Alta, light pollution is lower than other places on the peninsula, which will make it easier to enjoy this meteor shower.
Experts advise to move away from the urban centers and fix the gaze on a specific point of the sky to see the amount of meteors that will fall, around 20-25 every hour.
The Geminids, which receive this name because they are close to the radiant Gemini, are produced when the asteroid Phaethon (about five kilometers in diameter) approaches the orbit of the Sun, a fact that occurs every 1,4 years, and the heat burns the dust residues that cover its surface, forming a kind of gravel glue. These particles, called meteoroids, disintegrate when they enter the Earth's atmosphere at high speed and create luminous strokes, commonly known as "shooting stars."
