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 |
December 17th to the 26th 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 |
Peak action coincides with the solstice the evening of the 21st and 22nd. Again, there will be competition from persistent moonlight. Your best opportunity will be before moonrise on Saturday, December 21st .
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!
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