Himmelsgucker can hope for a special show this weekend. With the so-called Geminids, the largest shooting star swarm of the year is expected. Up to 120 shooting stars per hour forecast the Association of the Star Friends for the nights on Saturday and Sunday. And there are chances of good visibility, according to the meteorologists of the German Weather Service (DWD).
An advantage of the Geminids: Observers do not have to wait until late at night, as with many other shooting fall events. The Geminids show up already at the beginning of the darkness. A clear view to the east offers the best chances of observation.
Night on Sunday is the most promising
According to experience, the swarm named after the constellation Gemini (latin gemini) produces particularly many and bright shooting stars. Some are so bright that in clear weather they can also be seen in the sky above the light-flooded cities.
Shooting stars occur when particles in the Earth's atmosphere burn up. The Geminids always appear at Advent time, as the earth passes through a cosmic dust cloud. She is probably the remnant of a broken minor planet.
On the night of Saturday, a depression continues to dominate the weather. "You have to be lucky that it clears up," said DWD spokesman Andreas Friedrich. The biggest opportunities are in the south , in a strip from the Black Forest to southern Bavaria. "Otherwise it is rather cloudy."
But on the night of Sunday, there is a chance nationwide to observe the natural phenomenon. Until midnight it is according to forecasts only alternately cloudy, so again and again the starry sky can be seen. From midnight onwards, however, a new cloud band moves in from the west.
Before midnight is still the quite full moon in the sky, which affects the view of the falling stars, says Sven Melchert, chairman of the Association of the Star Friends. But every three minutes a shooting star should still be visible.
The Geminids seem to spring in the sky to the constellation Gemini. That's easy to find this weekend, says Melchert. It's right where the moon is.
