Most meteor showers typically happen when comets begin to melt and bits of rock and ice get kicked off the comet. There will be a Geminid meteor shower on Dec. 13 and Dec. 14. It is caused by the asteroid, 3200 Phaethon. 

     This shower is classified as a Geminid shower, which means it is coming from the constellation, Gemini. These start in late November and go until mid-December and typically produce the most meteors. This shower will have up to 120 meteors per hour.

     “You can’t tell someone exactly where to look. It’s just the little meteor hits the atmosphere and burns up, and you have to be looking in the right spot,” science teacher Ryan Tucek explained. “I remember doing it a few years ago when my kids were smaller, we were laying in the backyard and I was looking one way, and they were looking in the other direction, and they saw three or four, but I missed them because I wasn’t looking in the right spot.”

     Two days earlier, on Dec. 12, there will be a new moon. On Dec. 14, the moon will be a small waxing crescent. This means that there will be little light pollution from the moon on the night of the shower. 

      The shower will peak between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. The peak time does not necessarily mean that there are more meteors, but rather that they are more visible. Although this is the best time to watch, it is still visible earlier in the night. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will be visible longer because it stays dark longer in the winter. 

    P-T science teacher Charles Gates added, “There are thousands of resources on the web. You don’t have to seek a library or books to learn about meteor showers.” 

Sydney Mularski, Media Manager