The Geminid meteor shower

[Brad Reddekopp]

Get your warmest winter coat ready!

The peak of the 2009 Geminid meteor shower will be December 13 and 14. It is expected to be the best shower of the year. It'll be a dark night, since the new moon falls shortly after, on the 16th.

A new Moon will keep skies dark for a display that Cooke and others say could top 140 meteors per hour. According to the International Meteor Organization, maximum activity should occur around 12:10 a.m. EST (0510 UT) on Dec. 14th. The peak is broad, however, and the night sky will be rich with Geminids for many hours and perhaps even days around the maximum.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009 ... list975392

[Brad Reddekopp]

Me and the wife and granddaughter went out and looked at the sky for a while. That was enjoyable and we saw some "shooting stars". The granddaughter had questions about what we were seeing and it was a pleasure to answer her. We only stayed out about 15 minutes, though -- it's -22 C here tonight.

[Brad Reddekopp]

It's almost that time again. It's expected on the 13th and 14th of this month.

Beginning in early December, the Geminid meteor shower reaches its zenith on the nights of December 13 and 14, with a predicted peak just after midnight on December 14 on the US East Coast (or about 9PM Pacific time on December 13).

from http://www.chiff.com/science/geminids.htm

Look to the north-east. At the peak, there may be as many as 120 "shooting stars" per hour.