Thanks for the reminder. Gotta dust off the hammock.
Geminids will be the brightest under dark skies. Geminids also can create a spectacular light show on the sky as it travel more slowly than meteors from other showers. Since it need several seconds to blaze Geminids fall will be marvelous. Moreover, often they leave a brief trail of glowing smoke too. Have you ever "heard" a meteor?
Comet of Origin: 3200 Phaethon
Radiant: constellation Gemini
Active: Dec. 4-16, 2010
Peak Activity: Night of Dec 13-14, 2010
Peak Activity Meteor Count: Approximately 50 meteors per hour
Time of Optimal Viewing: 2 a.m.
Meteor Velocity: 35 kilometers (22 miles) per second
Note: Generally, the Geminids or August's Perseids provide the best meteor shower show of the year. Geminids are usually considered the best opportunity for younger viewers because the show gets going around 9 or 10 p.m. Unfortunately the moon does not set until after midnight this year, making for the possibility of drooping eyelids from the pre-teen set.
Consider it a warm-up for the total lunar eclipse coming the night of Dec. 20 and wee hours of Dec. 21, depending on your time zone. It will be the only full lunar eclipse of the year and the entire event will be visible in North America,
I was out from 1:45 to 2:40 and saw about 50. I had times when they were 9 -10 seconds apart and a few times when they were about 4-5 minutes apart. Beautiful night to be out on the deck. no snow and just above freezing.
it was spectacular from midnight to 4 a.m. opened up all the blinds and didn't even get out of bed to watch.
bumper sticker - honk if you will pay my mortgage
"The problem with Socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." attributed to Margaret Thatcher
"A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government." Thomas Jefferson
:thumbsup:
