Last supermoon of 2016 on Dec. 14 to coincide with Geminid meteor shower

That's terrible because the moon will outshine the meteors.

Belmont Lay | December 11, 2016, 10:12 PM

Are you ready to have your feelings cheated one last time in 2016?

[quip float="pqright"]Nov. 2016 supermoon was bad: Here are the crappy supermoon images from S’pore because moonsoon rain clouds are the worst[/quip]

The third and final installment of the supermoon trifecta will be on Dec. 14, 2016, following two previous supermoon events in October and November.

The moon will reach peak fullness that day in the final month of 2016, but it will appear full to the casual observer the night before and after the main event.

Besides the massive lunar event, December's full moon falls on the same night as the peak of the Geminid meteor shower, which is slated to occur on Dec. 13 and 14.

Unfortunately, the supermoon's brightness will mean poor meteor-viewing conditions for skywatchers as the light of the full moon will reduce visibility "five to ten fold," according to a statement from NASA.

Under those conditions, skywatchers will likely see fewer than a dozen Geminids per hour.

A little about the meteor showers

The Geminids are typically one of the best and most reliable of the annual meteor showers.

It is considered by many to be the best shower, producing up to 120 multi-coloured meteors per hour at its peak. They are visible to your bare eyes.

In Singapore, the probability of meteors appearing for this Geminids is about 1 to 1.5 meteors per minute.

Here is a 20-second video shot from Singapore in 2010 showing how quickly meteors appear and disappear:

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It is produced by debris left behind by an asteroid known as 3200 Phaethon, which was discovered in 1982.

The shower runs annually from Dec. 7 to 17. It peaks this year on the night of the 13th and morning of the 14th.

According to the Science Centre Singapore, meteor showers are best viewed between midnight and sunrise on the peak dates.

The highest rate of meteors usually occurs between 2am to 5am, under clear sky condition and seen from relatively dark areas.

Brightly lit, urban environments like Singapore will see significantly less meteors, but meteors that radiate from the constellation Gemini can appear anywhere in the sky.

Fingers crossed.

 

Related articles:

Here are the crappy supermoon images from S’pore because moonsoon rain clouds are the worst

Here are the people in S’pore who managed to shoot the Nov. 14 supermoon. Get ready for Nov. 15’s.

 

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