Eyes to the Sky

The Geminids is a meteor shower that peaks on December 12th to 13th. This meteor shower originates from the asteroid 3200 Phaethon. These meteors will be visible in both hemispheres, starting at about 9:00 pm. 

You can view the Geminids by lying down on the ground in a park-like area with your feet facing south. After about 30 minutes, your eyes will adjust to the darkness and you’ll be able to make out these meteors. There will be roughly 4o meteors per hour, with each one traveling up to 21 miles per second! Remember to wear warm clothes to beat the cold winter temperatures and not to use anything that emits light while watching. 

This is not your only chance to view a meteor shower. Turns out there are about 30 meteor showers per year. The Quadrantids, another meteor shower, happens in early January and the Lyrids later in April. The Lyrids meteor shower occurs each year between April 16th and April 25th.  

You don’t have to be an astronomer to view these meteor showers. Mr. Henley, a 7th grade social studies teacher, has seen a meteor shower and says, “It was the greatest night of my life. The lights that shown down upon me like the tears of angels collectively crying in a harmonious symphony of cosmic melancholy”.