This meteor shower is one of the most interesting showers from a radio amateur point of view. Swarm activity is lower compared to stronger swarms, but station activity is higher. Expeditions and World Championship races contribute to this. What should we prepare for?
The swarm will be active from December 5th to December 17th, with the expected maximum in the early evening of Sunday, December 14th. However, this is not suitable for Central Europe, and therefore we will have to settle for the morning and night of Monday, December 15, when the number of reflections per hour will be 40 to 50. At the maximum, the number of reflections is above 100. The swarm consists of many small parts. However, in the width of the maximum, the forecasts differ greatly, from a few to tens of hours.
Best times for NE-SW connections: 4 to 6 and 21 to 23 UTC, E to W: none, NW to SE: 2 to 5 and 19 to 21 UTC, S to S: 19 to 22 and 2 to 7 UTC.
There are two races during the swarm: BCC MS contest a meteor scatter Memorial contest na počesť Istvána HA6OQ. Z expedícií je možné spomenúť RK1B/1 z KO46 a 9A1CAL/p, ktorý bude QRV z ostrova Korčula, JN82IW.
If the cloudy sky is not against it, it will be possible to observe the Geminids with the naked eye. The moon will rise above the horizon on December 13 around 9 p.m., just as the swarm becomes active and will keep observers company for the rest of the night.
Lots of nice ones QSO!
Literature:
[1] http://skytour.homestead.com/met2003.html
[2] http://comets.amsmeteors.org/meteors/showers/geminids.html
[3] The MeteorScatter Predictor DL5BAC
[4] Meteor scatter connection by reflection from meteor trails, Gyetvay Zoltán OM7AQ, Proceedings of the meeting of Vysoké Tatry radio amateurs November 20-22, 1998, p.62