We are in the most beautiful time of the year – a time when we cherish great wishes and also make wishes come true for others. On Saturday, December 13, Berlin will see many wishes come true: That’s when hundreds of Santas will parade through the city on their decorated motorcycles, with presents for those in need in their luggage and a big helping of Christmas cheer in tow. But it’s not just Santas who can make wishes come true. According to superstition, shooting stars are also involved and make small miracles possible. And what better time could there be? The last supermoon of the year shone in the sky just a few days ago and the next spectacle is already on the horizon: On the night of December 13-14, an impressive stream of shooting stars will appear almost simultaneously.
In other words, make sure you have your wish list ready for this weekend. If you want to see the stream of shooting stars – the Geminids – you have to go to a place where you have as clear a view of the sky as possible, without tall trees or buildings in the vicinity. The peak is expected on December 14, in the early hours of the morning when it is already getting light. Uwe Pilz from the Association of Friends of the Stars advises observing shooting stars, especially in the second half of the night when Gemini – the original constellation – is high in the sky.
If you really want to see the shooting stars, you have to look for the constellation Gemini. This rises in the eastern sky in the evening hours. The Geminids are expected to be active until December 17. The Berlin Planetarium reports that the Geminids even surpass the summer shooting stars, the Perseids, in their intensity. However, at around 35 kilometers per second, they are relatively slow compared to other streams of shooting stars. Unlike many other streams of shooting stars, however, their source is not a comet but an asteroid. As its orbit has been moving closer to the Earth for several years, significantly more shooting stars can now be seen, explains the House of Astronomy in Heidelberg.