Winter Meteor Shower
D.W.Q.M.: "Everything that happens in life has a scientific explanation -- if you look for it." -The Third Doctor
It's time for another meteor shower!! The Geminids peak this weekend-December 13th-14th. According to this online article at Sky and Telescope, the prime viewing hours will begin approx. 10pm EST on the 13th, and will last until dawn. Up to 75 meteors per hour, and they will appear to be yellow. Of course the moon will wash out some of the fainter meteors. And, if you are Jerm, you will probably assume it will be cloudy. ;) Actually, if you are in Cleveland, you will probably be in agreement. (Forecast for Cleveland Saturday night : clouds! Rats! Oh, well-the weather has been known to change at the drop of a hat.
Some interesting facts about the Geminids-they were only documented 150 years ago (the Persieds and the Leonids have been documented for centuries-earliest reference for the Persieds: 36 AD in China; the Leonids: roughly the beginning of the 10th Century, from accounts indicating that the stars 'fell like rain') Also-comets are usually the cause of our meteor showers-they leave dusty debris trails and when the Earth passes through them...viola!! Nature's fireworks! :) The Geminids are believed not to be caused by a passing comet, but by the broken fragments of a psuedo astroid-comet of mysterious composition. Psuedo astroid-coment, you say? Lets just say asteriod, or a dormant comet coated with a thick layer of dust. ;)
Happy viewing! :) :)
It's time for another meteor shower!! The Geminids peak this weekend-December 13th-14th. According to this online article at Sky and Telescope, the prime viewing hours will begin approx. 10pm EST on the 13th, and will last until dawn. Up to 75 meteors per hour, and they will appear to be yellow. Of course the moon will wash out some of the fainter meteors. And, if you are Jerm, you will probably assume it will be cloudy. ;) Actually, if you are in Cleveland, you will probably be in agreement. (Forecast for Cleveland Saturday night : clouds! Rats! Oh, well-the weather has been known to change at the drop of a hat.
Some interesting facts about the Geminids-they were only documented 150 years ago (the Persieds and the Leonids have been documented for centuries-earliest reference for the Persieds: 36 AD in China; the Leonids: roughly the beginning of the 10th Century, from accounts indicating that the stars 'fell like rain') Also-comets are usually the cause of our meteor showers-they leave dusty debris trails and when the Earth passes through them...viola!! Nature's fireworks! :) The Geminids are believed not to be caused by a passing comet, but by the broken fragments of a psuedo astroid-comet of mysterious composition. Psuedo astroid-coment, you say? Lets just say asteriod, or a dormant comet coated with a thick layer of dust. ;)
Happy viewing! :) :)
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