Although the supermoon phenomenon in December is probably the current attraction, another natural event is also slated to unfold around the same time that Earth's closest neighbor becomes visible.
The Geminid meteor shower is in its own right a fascinating experience. NASA shares that it is one of the outstanding falling fire balls that people need to see.
This form of sky fireworks comes around annually. The glowing celestial bodies travel along a path that veers away from the constellation Gemini.
These falling flares are fragments of the asteroid 3200 Phaethon. The minus four brightness magnitude of the heavenly bodies can be compared to a shining planet Venus.
The shower activity will be unraveling around 120 meteors per hour at a velocity of 35 kilometers or 22 miles per second. While the biggest meteor show this year will build a lot of excitement, there is no guarantee that those fireballs will be totally visible.
Aside from December's traditionally cold season where clouds dominate the skies, the meteors will be taking a backseat to the sixth and final supermoon of 2016. It is perceived that Earth's natural satellite will outglow the fire fragments.
Considering the brightness of the moon, the meteor's luster will be reduced by a factor of five to ten which means that the shower's glaze will become somewhat of a faint light.
A supermoon surfaces when its full form comes to its closest within the Earth's orbit. During this event, the shape gets bigger by 14 percent. Its illumination is bolstered by about 30 percent.
When the supermoon and the Geminid meteor shower emerge together, it is highly likely that the presence of the fireballs will be suppressed. However, the fire fragments can still be viewed when the event is still building up.
Meanwhile, the last big moon experience of the year is cited to be the largest since 1948. Its next occurrence will be in 2034.
