New Meteor Shower in the Constellation Cassiopeia

The December Phi Cassiopeiids is a recently discovered early December meteor shower that radiates from Cassiopeia.

Phi Cassiopeiids are very slow, with an entry velocity of approximately 16.7 kilometers per second.

The shower's parent body is a Jupiter family comet, though its specific identity is unknown.

Cassiopeia is home to the annual Perseid meteor shower, which peaks around August 12 or 13. Tracing the paths of Perseid meteors backward reveals they appear to originate between Cassiopeia and the neighboring constellation Perseus.

Although Cassiopeia and Perseus are best seen in the evening sky during autumn and winter, they can also be observed in the latter part of Northern Hemisphere summer, from late night until dawn.

The Double Cluster in Perseus, a magnificent pair of open star clusters, is an easy target for binoculars and telescopes in the area between Cassiopeia and Perseus.

Cassiopeia lies almost completely within the Milky Way, surrounded by a wealth of celestial treasures to explore with binoculars and telescopes on dark autumn and winter nights.

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