Geminids Geminids The Geminids is a meteor shower caused by the object 3200 Phaethon, which is thought to be a Palladian asteroid with a "rock comet" orbit. This would make the Geminids, together with the Quadrantids, the only major meteor showers not originating from a comet. The meteors from this shower are slow moving, can be seen in December and usually peak around December 6–14, with the date of highest intensity being the morning of December 14. The shower is thought to be intensifying every year and recent showers have seen 120–160 meteors per hour under optimal conditions, generally around 02:00
December Festival Hurdle December Festival Hurdle The December Festival Hurdle, currently known by its sponsored title of the Ryanair Hurdle, is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of about 2 miles , and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year during the Christmas Festival meeting in late December. Prior to 2013 the race was named the Istabraq Festival Hurdle in honour of Istabraq, who won it four times. The race