Title: Geminid Meteor Shower
Location: Hawaiian Islands Viewing
Date / Time: December 13/14
Comments: The Geminid Meteor Shower, one of the year's strongest showers, is expected to peak before dawn on Monday, Dec. 14th. With little interference from the Moon this year, we could see as many as 100 meteors ("shooting stars") per hour from a dark viewing site. The meteors appear to originate or "radiate" from the constellation Gemini the Twins, near the bright star Castor. The highest rates come in the hours after midnight when Gemini appears high in the sky. Best viewing will probably be on Monday morning, between 2 AM, (when Gemini is directly overhead), and dawn. We could probably catch some meteor action on the late nights & early mornings prior to Dec.14th as well. Early mornings, Mars will be viewable in neighboring constellation Leo the Lion, and Saturn will be rising by around 1AM. The streaking meteors will only serve to highlight our viewing of the spectacular morning sky! You DO NOT need a telescope or binoculars to see this, or any meteor shower. Just make sure you are warm & comfortable, (a lounge chair with blankets & a thermos with a hot beverage would be great), find a dark spot, & scan the sky for streaks of light! Meteor showers occur when the Earth passes thru the path of a comet. The tiny bits of debris left behind by comets, most no larger than a grain of sand, create a spectacular light show as they enter (& burn up) in Earth's atmosphere. The Geminids come from "3200 Phaethon," an asteroid which many astronomers suspect is the nucleus of a dead comet.

Maintained by Roz Reiner - Kauai, Hawaii

 

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