3200 Phaethon 3200 Phaethon 3200 Phaethon ( , sometimes incorrectly spelled Phaeton), provisional designation , is an Apollo asteroid with an orbit that brings it closer to the Sun than any other named asteroid (though there are numerous unnamed asteroids with smaller perihelia, such as ). For this reason, it was named after the Greek myth of Phaëthon, son of the sun god Helios. It is in diameter and is the parent body of the Geminids meteor shower of mid-December. With an observation arc of 30+ years, it has a very well determined orbit. The 2017 Earth approach distance of about 10
Eta Aquariids to be a source of meteoric activity. Although this shower is not as spectacular as the Leonids may be and well below the rates of the Perseids or the Geminids, it is not an ordinary event. The Eta Aquariids get their name because their radiant appears to lie in the constellation Aquarius, near one of the constellation's brightest stars, Eta Aquarii. The shower peaks at about a rate of around a meteor per minute, although such rates are rarely seen from northern latitudes due to the low altitude of the radiant. The Eta Aquariids are best viewed in the pre-dawn