About this episode
This episode discusses the unique characteristics of the Earth-approaching object Phaethon and its connection to the Geminid Meteor Shower.
The mysterious Earth approaching object Phaethon (FAY-eh-thon) does not fit neatly into our definition of either an asteroid or a comet. Further it appears to be like the Peanuts character Pigpen in that it leaves a trail of dust and other fine debris in it's wake which in the case of Phaethon produces the Geminid Meteor Shower to delight us every year around Christmas time. Phaethon is amazing in that every 524 days it makes a death defying flight to a point less than one of half of the planet Mercury's distance from the Sun, where it's surface temperature reaches a mind boggling 1,200 Fahrenheit. During one of these events the NASA Stereo Spacecraft A discovered that Phaethon had rock dust tail.
People in this episode
Host: Albert D. Grauer
Topics covered
- asteroids
- comets
- meteor showers
- space exploration
- astronomy
Keywords
- Phaethon
- Geminid Meteor Shower
- asteroid
- comet
- NASA
- spacecraft
- Mercury
- rock dust tail
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: NASA
Books & works: Phaethon
Places: Mercury
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- 901-Rubin and Incoming Asteroids · May 29, 2026 · 2 min
- 390E-427-Meteor Whispers · May 26, 2026 · 2 min
- 900-Earth Life from Mars · May 22, 2026 · 2 min
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