When is the last time you spent a significant amount of time watching the night sky? If it’s been a while, you may want to carve out a couple of hours this weekend to watch one of the biggest meteor showers to grace the sky this year.
The Geminid meteor shower takes place each winter here in the northern hemisphere and also just happens to be one of the most famous.
Mike Lewinski/Flickr During the shower, you’ll see dozens of bright meteors fly across the night sky for hours and the meteors are typically bright and move just slow enough for you to spot them on a clear night. It makes for the perfect night out with a fellow astronomy enthusiast!
According to NASA’s Watch the Skies blog, the meteor shower is a result of the Earth passing through the stream of debris left by the near-earth object 3200 Phaethon.
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center/Flickr The object is often referred to as an asteroid or an extinct comet, though no one seems to quite agree on the designation. Either way, an asteroid collided with 3200 Phaethon quite some time ago, creating a huge stream of dusty debris that now burns up in the Earth’s atmosphere each winter.
This year, you’ll be able to see the meteor shower hit its peak on Friday, December 13 starting at 7 p.m.
AmyM Howard/Flickr
On Friday, we are expecting clear or mostly clear skies across most of the state, but the moon will be slowly waning from its full phase the previous night.
Mike Lewinski/Flickr Don’t let this discourage you though! We’ll still be able to see an average of 20 to 30 per hour and the best time recommended by space.com is at approximately 2 a.m.
Do you plan on watching the Geminid meteor shower this year? Where do you plan to see it?
Bureau of Land Management/Flickr
Looking for places to watch the night sky this winter? New Mexico is home to a handful of “dark” places certified by the International Dark-Sky Association! Read about these locations in These Are Some Of The Darkest Places In New Mexico And You’ll Want To Visit.
Mike Lewinski/Flickr
During the shower, you’ll see dozens of bright meteors fly across the night sky for hours and the meteors are typically bright and move just slow enough for you to spot them on a clear night. It makes for the perfect night out with a fellow astronomy enthusiast!
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center/Flickr
The object is often referred to as an asteroid or an extinct comet, though no one seems to quite agree on the designation. Either way, an asteroid collided with 3200 Phaethon quite some time ago, creating a huge stream of dusty debris that now burns up in the Earth’s atmosphere each winter.
AmyM Howard/Flickr
Don’t let this discourage you though! We’ll still be able to see an average of 20 to 30 per hour and the best time recommended by space.com is at approximately 2 a.m.
Bureau of Land Management/Flickr
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