How to see the best meteor shower of the year
You can catch what astronomers are predicting will be the best meteor shower of the year Sunday evening into Monday morning.
The annual Geminids meteor shower is billed as the best because it produces more meteors per hour than other showers. The show starts around 9 or 10 p.m. and continues overnight. This year a crescent moon on Sunday will set early, making it easier to spot the meteors.
Another bonus: Near-record warmth for most of the eastern half of the nation Sunday and Monday (though some clouds could obscure the view in the East and Northwest). Through Monday morning, temperatures are not expected to drop below the freezing mark for most areas east of the Mississippi River, according to weather.com.
The Western U.S. will stay on the chilly side, however.
"The shower is showy in the sense that the meteors you get to see are usually very dramatic," said Adam Block, who manages the University of Arizona's Mount Lemmon SkyCenter.
Geminid meteors are bright and fast (79,000 mph), and the shower is famous for producing fireballs, which are meteors brighter than magnitude -4, the same magnitude as the planet Venus.
You should also be able to see meteors in the nights leading up to Sunday, although Sunday evening to Monday morning will be your best chance to see the most meteors.
The origins of the Geminids are not well understood. Most meteor showers come from icy comets, but these appear to spring from an odd, rocky object named Phaeton after the son of the Greek sun god Helios.
Here are some viewing tips:
When to view: Sunday evening, Dec. 13, after 9 or 10 p.m. into Monday morning, Dec. 14.
Where to view meteors: The meteors will appear to radiate from the constellation Gemini, but you don't need to focus your eyes only there. Meteors will appear across the sky, said Patrick Young, an associate professor at Arizona State University’s School of Earth and Space Exploration. Don't use binoculars or a telescope; the fast-moving meteors will disappear quickly from view.
How to view: Get away from city lights, if possible. If you can't leave the city, find the darkest spot in your yard away from street and house lights. Meteors appear in bursts, Young said. You may see several in a short time and then not any for several minutes. Plan to bundle up against the cold and spend at least 30 minutes outside.
Too cold to go outside? You can participate in a live online tweetchat hosted by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The show starts at 11 p.m. ET (10 p.m. CT, 9 p.m. MT, 8 p.m. PT) on Sunday.
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