Coming up in December, we will have the Geminids meteor shower. Now, the parent body of this particular shower is really interesting as it’s not a comet. The Geminids are caused by asteroid 3200 Phaethon, and this strange exception is one that has sent scientists looking for reasons why.⠀ ⠀ Phaethon is what is known as a dead comet, although the new term gaining traction is “rock comet”. Phaethon also has an elliptical orbit and only takes 1.4 years to go around the Sun. And it brightens significantly as it gets closer to the Sun. But it’s a rock, right? How is it brightening that much and giving off enough dust to make a trail worthy of one of the best meteor showers? The answer, provided by new research published in the Planetary Science Journal, is possibly sodium.⠀ ⠀ Read my full story: buff.ly/3iYmBwE⠀ ⠀ IMAGE: This illustration depicts asteroid Phaethon being heated by the Sun. The asteroid’s surface gets so hot that sodium inside Phaethon’s rock may vaporize and vent int...