An Asteroid Gets Its Close-Up As Geminids Light Up The Sky

A photographer looks at the night sky to see the annual Geminid meteor shower in northern Italy in December 2015. This year

The Earth’s encounter with asteroid 3200 Phaethon on Saturday will be its closest since 1974 — and the closest it will be until 2093. The flyby means good gazing for amateur astronomers.

(Image credit: Marco Bertorello/AFP/Getty Images)