Don’t let the cold winter weather keep you indoors all season long. Get out there this week to see one of the most stunning natural shows that our solar system has to offer: the 2019 Geminid Meteor Shower.
Nebraska is an exceptional place for stargazing, thanks to both its low terrain and abundance of dark skies away from cities. You’ll want to take advantage of that on December 13th-14th as the Geminid Meteor Shower makes an appearance in the night sky.
flickr/Diana Robinson
The annual Geminid Meteor Shower is always a crowd-pleaser. In a good year on a clear night, you can see 40-60 meteors per hour. Unfortunately, in 2019 the shower will happen right after a full moon, so the sky will still be pretty bright. Conditions are expected to be a bit cloudy as well, further interfering with our view of the shower.
flickr/Emilio Küffer
Don’t worry, though - these celestial fireballs are intense. Go as far away from bright city lights as possible and you’ll still be able to see these shooting stars. The visible display may be slightly less dense - around 20 per hour - but it will still be totally breathtaking and very much worth the effort.
flickr/Danny Leung
This particular meteor shower is different from most others in that it is the result of an asteroid, not a comet. As the asteroid 3200 Phaethon is nearest in its orbit to the sun, it ejects massive amounts of dust - this is what we can see from Earth, streaking across the sky.
flickr/Jeff Sullivan
Meteors will be visible as early as 9 p.m. on the 13th and through the pre-dawn hours of the 14th. If you’re out there around 2 a.m. you’ll have the best chance of seeing the peak. You don’t need to look in a certain direction to see the flaming streaks, but if you want to see them moving out from their point of origin, look at the Gemini constellation, just a little to the left of Orion’s belt.
flickr/Diana Robinson
It’s going to be very cold that night, so be sure to bundle up, bring a warm beverage, and set up camp in a lounge chair so you don’t get a stiff neck from looking up for hours.
flickr/Diana Robinson
flickr/Emilio Küffer
flickr/Danny Leung
flickr/Jeff Sullivan
The best place in the whole state to view this or any other celestial event is Merritt Reservoir, a dark-sky location that draws thousands of stargazers a year. You should be able to see at least some meteors from anywhere in the state, though.
Happy meteor spotting!
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