November 2002

Mid-December Meteor Shower

November 2002 : By Dave Huestis

Regardless of the Leonids' performance, the most reliable meteor shower of the year is the upcoming Geminids of December. This year the peak is on the night of December 13-14, Friday night to Saturday morning. Unfortunately a waxing gibbous Moon (just past first quarter) won't set until around 2:00 am on the 14th. This scenario will somewhat reduce the number of meteors that can be observed until it sets. However, after moonset, observers from a dark sky location should view about 75 shooting stars per hour blazing across the heavens.