Over 100 Meteors Per Hour Possible - Geminids Peak Saturday Night!

One of the best meteors showers of the year is expected to peak this weekend, with ideal viewing conditions producing up to 100 meteors per hour!

The Geminid Meteor shower rivals the Perseids for the most prolific of the year, but it does happen in December so it is a much colder astronomical event to take in. Geminids tend to be bright and fast, producing tails of yellow. They originate from debris left behind from comet/asteroid 3200 Phaethon.

Most viewers in dark skies can expect to see about 40-50 meteors per hour, about one every minute or 90 seconds. Getting away from city lights will help you spy more meteors, especially earlier in night since the moon will be rising after midnight. I would recommend heading out to watch about two hours after sunset and settling in until the moonlight begins to influence viewing conditions.

Cloud cover can completely ruin meteor shower viewing, and unfortunately a lot of people from the Ohio Valley into the Southeast will have some cloud cover to completely cloudy skies Saturday night. The Western U.S. will have better viewing conditions, as will parts of Florida.

The other factor that may keep you inside is the extreme cold spilling across the country. Temperatures are expected to be below freezing and even below zero for many along and north of I-40. Mild temperatures will persist in the South and West.

While meteors will appear to originate from the constellation Gemini in the eastern sky, try to watch as much of the sky as possible to view the highest number of meteors. You'll miss most meteors if you use binoculars or a telescope so just watch naturally, hopefully lying on your back for awhile to let you eyes adjust. Happy hunting!