My Geminid Meteor Shower 2022

My first experience in astronomy was on a camping trip somewhere in the Southeast US. I was 3 years old, and my dad took me on a walk after dark. He showed me some stars, maybe the Big Dipper, but what I recall most was that he told me "maybe we'll see a shooting star." We didn't see one then, but I remember that walk more than I remember my first shooting star, whenever I finally saw it.

Usually I relate that story to introduce my long experience in meteor observing. But this time it's about my dad. He lived for over 93 years, but earlier this month he went into hospice care after worsening congestive heart failure. Just after midnight on the morning of December 13th, my mom called me to say "I think he's gone." I told her I would be there soon. I drove northward through the frigid, moonlit morning to the site of my childhood home, past the site that I normally use for meteor observation. As I continued up the highway, at 12:40am I saw a long, bright white Geminid fall northward. A few seconds later another one, and 6 minutes later a third. It was as if the Geminids were leading me forward and marking my dad's passing. When I reached my mom she said "I thought we would have more time." Just imagine that being the first thought in someone's mind after they have been married for 56 years.

Needless to say, I don't have an observing report for the peak night of the Geminids on December 13/14.

The Geminids drop off pretty dramatically after their peak, but I decided to go out on the evening of December 14th to see what was left. It was a very cold and rather slow session that lasted for 1.8 hours and ended when the sky suddenly fogged over. In that time, I saw 25 Geminids and 10 other meteors. Despite a slight haze, limiting magnitude was a steady 6.5. Overall meteor activity was bright. The mean Geminid magnitude was 1.5. The highlight of the watch was a -3 blue-green Geminid that arced across the sky into Pegasus and left an orangish wake. Almost as impressive was a similar one that traced a long path to the south as I was driving home.

There will be better meteor showers, but I'm glad I went out for that session. And the meteors that will remain etched in my memory are those three that I saw on my morning drive northward.