December Night Skies

One of the fun things about winter is the night sky.  Cold, clear, winter skies are characterized by a lack of humidity and if you live in the country there is very little urban light pollution creating some spectacular opportunities for star-gazing.    

December brings a couple of meteor showers to the night skies.  The more prolific of the two is the Geminids with as many as 120 to 160 shooting stars per hour. 

Shooting starts are most often associated with the Earth’s passage thru the debris field of a comet.  The Geminids are a bit of a mystery as they are related with an extinct comet which also happens to be a near-earth asteroid named 3200 Phaethon.  

EarthSky.org
 

The best viewing should start the evening of Monday the 13^th and peak on Tuesday evening the 14^th.  A waxing Gibbous moon may wash-out the fainter meteorites - yet the volume of debris entering the atmosphere should make-up the difference.

December also brings the Ursid meteor shower with 5  to 10 shooting stars per hour as the Earth passes thru the debris field of Comet 8P/Tuttle.   

EarthSky.org
 

Although not as spectacular as the Geminids peak action coincides with the solstice the evening of the 21^st and 22^nd.   Competition from the light cast by the Cold Moon could be a challenge making only the brightest meteorites visible. 

Mark your calendar and if your catch a cold, clear, winter sky bundle-up and take some time to sit outside and observe the heavens. 

There’s no mosquitoes this time of year!