After
a days-long lead-up, tonight, December 13/14, 2013, is finally the
peak of the Geminid
Meteor Shower,
which means that tonight, more so than any before or after, should
offer the most meteors streaking through the sky.
Every December, Earth passes through the stretch of space junk shed by a mysterious object called 3200 Phaeton, reaching the deepest concentration of debris tonight. According to some estimates, under ideal conditions (dark country skies), one can expect to see something in the range from 60-120 meteors per hour. The reason the meteors are called Geminids is because the meteors seem to radiate from the constellation Gemini. The best time to view the shower is in the wee hours of the nigh/early morning, when Gemini is at its highest.
If you plan to go out in the early morning, look in the West-Southwest and directly above Orion to spot Gemini, whose signature feature is bright stars Castor and Pollux within a 5 degrees of each other.
The best part: even if its cloudy, you can watch the meteor shower online! Go here to learn more about the shower, how to observe it, and for a link to the webcasts!
Every December, Earth passes through the stretch of space junk shed by a mysterious object called 3200 Phaeton, reaching the deepest concentration of debris tonight. According to some estimates, under ideal conditions (dark country skies), one can expect to see something in the range from 60-120 meteors per hour. The reason the meteors are called Geminids is because the meteors seem to radiate from the constellation Gemini. The best time to view the shower is in the wee hours of the nigh/early morning, when Gemini is at its highest.
If you plan to go out in the early morning, look in the West-Southwest and directly above Orion to spot Gemini, whose signature feature is bright stars Castor and Pollux within a 5 degrees of each other.
The best part: even if its cloudy, you can watch the meteor shower online! Go here to learn more about the shower, how to observe it, and for a link to the webcasts!
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If you found this informative (or at least entertaining), help me pay my bills and check out my Examiner pages for space news, cleveland photography, national photography, and astronomy for more great stuff.
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