The Geminid meteor shower comes along each December on a very regular schedule. It’s predicted that tonight and very early into the morning December 14 the meteor shower will peak.
Astronomers say that along the east coast of US, the best viewing time will be in the hours before dawn on Tuesday the 14th, between 1 and 3 am, when it’s expected that 50 to 80 meteors per hour will be visible.
Of course, this year the peak also coincides with extremely cold temperatures, parts of the East Coast will be dipping down into the negative numbers this evening. Even much of Florida will be in the 20’s. Meteor gazers will need to bundle up!
The Geminid meteor shower is named after the constellation Gemini. The shower appears to come from the area of the sky that that constellation is in. The light show can be seen by looking straight up into the night sky.
While the meteor shower is expected to peak early Tuesday morning, it can be seen for many nights on both sides of the main event.
Astronomers recommend finding an area free of light pollution, and preferably out of direct view of the moon. The less light the viewer is in, the more spectacular the show will be. The Geminid meteor shower is the last major meteor shower of 2010. A smaller show is expected from the Ursids meteor shower, which will peak on the evening of December 22-23, with about 15 to 25 meteors visible per hour.
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