Skygazers: get ready for the best meteor shower of the year!
Chattanooga, TN (WDEF) – Astronomers predict December 14th’s Geminid Meteor Shower to be one of the most spectacular shows of the year.
That’s definitely an Amy-O-Meter 10!
Sky and Telescope magazine sent a press release specifically to members of the American Meteorology Society so we could inform our viewers about this great chance to catch a shooting star.
If our skies remain clear to partly cloudy (as they should) astronomers predict you may see a shooting star every minute or two between 10:00 pm and dawn.
One reason the conditions may be so good Monday night is the moon just reached ‘New Moon’ phase this past Friday. That means the waxing moon is very small in the sky (and a bright, full moon can cut down on the number of meteors seen.) The experts tell us you should be able to see more of them if you let your eyes adjust to the darkness for about 20 minutes.
Geminids can be visible anywhere in the sky, but they appear to originate near the constellation Gemini. (That’s why the show is called the Geminids.) The meteors themselves are small pieces of rocky debris shed by the 3200 Phaethon asteroid.
So if the partly cloudy to mostly clear skies persist, head out with a comfy lawn chair and keep your eyes to the sky.
You may just catch a shooting star!
That’s definitely an Amy-O-Meter 10!
Sky and Telescope magazine sent a press release specifically to members of the American Meteorology Society so we could inform our viewers about this great chance to catch a shooting star.
If our skies remain clear to partly cloudy (as they should) astronomers predict you may see a shooting star every minute or two between 10:00 pm and dawn.
One reason the conditions may be so good Monday night is the moon just reached ‘New Moon’ phase this past Friday. That means the waxing moon is very small in the sky (and a bright, full moon can cut down on the number of meteors seen.) The experts tell us you should be able to see more of them if you let your eyes adjust to the darkness for about 20 minutes.
Geminids can be visible anywhere in the sky, but they appear to originate near the constellation Gemini. (That’s why the show is called the Geminids.) The meteors themselves are small pieces of rocky debris shed by the 3200 Phaethon asteroid.
So if the partly cloudy to mostly clear skies persist, head out with a comfy lawn chair and keep your eyes to the sky.
You may just catch a shooting star!
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