If the weather clears up at all this week, there’s a good chance of catching some meteors during the Geminid meteor shower:
This week is a great chance to watch a great meteor shower: the Geminids, so named because they appear to shoot away from the constellation of Gemini. This is a really reliable shower, generally putting out as many as 100 meteors per hour! It peaks on the evening to morning of Dec. 13/14, but usually has a decent showing for a couple of days before and after the peak.
First things first: In November, I posted a how-to guide on watching a meteor shower for the Leonids, another nice annual shower. The instructions for the Geminids are essentially the same. Just replace “Leo” with “Gemini” in your head when you read the guide, and you’ll be fine. Gemini rises in the east around 7:00 p.m. local time, but the best time to observe is after local midnight (see #3 in the how-to guide).
Just remember: if you’re anywhere close to a major city, you’ll have a much better time if you drive somewhere darker. This dark sky map is a good way of finding suitable viewing areas near you: Dark Sky Finder.
via Bad Astronomy.