The Geminid Meteor Shower

sounds pretty cool...
"
In 2003, the Geminid meteor shower will peak during the night of December 13�14, producing as many as 75 slow, graceful Geminids per hour if viewed under ideal conditions. They tend to be bright and appear yellow. Rates increase steadily for several days before maximum, then drop off quickly. The meteors that do appear after maximum, however, tend to be especially bright.

This year a bright gibbous Moon will be in the sky during the shower�s prime viewing hours, which start around 10 p.m. local time each night and last until dawn. Strong moonlight will sharply reduce the number of faint meteors seen. By definition, a Geminid is a meteor whose path, extended backward, crosses the shower�s radiant point near Castor.

Observers can use our interactive sky chart to see the appearance of the sky at 2:00 a.m. during the peak morning of the Geminids. The chart is set at 40� north latitude for central North America. On the chart, the meteor shower name and symbol is visible in both windows. Click on the "change" button to alter either the date and time or viewing location displayed by the chart. "


The Geminids: An Exception to the Rule



The Geminids

Interactive Sky Chart

I'm seeing an awsome light show tonight....they are bright I got my camera on 16 sec exp tryin to get some on film

Thanks for heads up! I just went outside and caught a real bright one inspite of the moon being directly overhead.

They make a WHIZZ sound.
Kinda like blowing real hard thru a straw.

I'll bet it's nice a cloudy round these parts tonight.

the ones I saw last night would be easy to see through light clouds. They were really bright.

Aha, that explains it.

I assume these would be visible from the southern hemisphere?

I was drinking outside at a mates birthday party earlier and everyone commented that there was quite a lot of very bright shooting stars occuring. I guess this would explain it?

Yeah..its quite cloudy around here in California lately...don't think I'll get to see them...

-wD