Bundle Up And Catch The Geminid Meteor Shower This Week! (WHNT-TV0

[eppur_se_muova]

Posted 4:18 pm, December 12, 2017, by Gabrielle Deabler

It’s hasn’t been the best year for meteor showers – the Taurids didn’t have a very active year and a nearly full moon blocked much of the Perseids. This week we’ll finally get a good show from a meteor shower as the Geminid shower peaks Wednesday and Thursday.

The best time to see the shower is at 2AM, when the radiant point is highest in the night sky. The radiant point, where the meteors appear to be coming from, is within the Gemini Twins constellation. You don’t have to be looking at the radiant point to see the meteors though, they’ll cover all parts of the sky! The Geminid meteor shower can produce up to 50 meteors per hour at its peak.

There is one catch to watching the Geminds this year: It’s going to be bitterly cold! Make sure you bundle up and bring a few blankets and maybe even some hot tea or cocoa. Overnight lows Wednesday morning will fall into the mid 20s under mostly clear skies.

http://whnt.com/2017/12/12/bundle-up-and-catch-the-geminid-meteor-shower-this-week/


That's mid-20s in north AL !

[eppur_se_muova]

1. IMPORTANT: Free, but reservations required !

GEMINIDS VIEWING DECEMBER 13, Register Now!

VBAS is partnering with Camp Maranatha to view the peak of the Geminid meteor shower on Wednesday, December 13, 2017. Viewing will be at Camp Maranatha's dark sky location on the lovely shores of Lake Gunnersville. {sic}

This year's meteor shower is expected to produce zenith hourly rates of up to 120 meteors per hour. The skys should be dark since the moon does not rise until 3:18 am and then only with about 12% illumination. Sunset is at 4:36 PM and guests can begin arriving at 5 PM. The radiant in Gemini rises approximately 6 PM and will be up until dawn at 6:46 AM.

We will have a presentation on meteors at 7 pm and have our VBAS meteor collection on display for show and tell. Volunteers are needed to set up telescopes to view some of our favorite deep sky objects such as Andromeda and the Orion Nebula. Please contact Eric Silkowski at [e-mail] or 571-205-3833 to volunteer.

Let's make this a big VBAS showing at this first time event. Pizza and hot beverages will be provided. Don't forget to bring your favorite lounge chair and warm clothes! The general public is invited and children accompanied by adults are welcomed.

Directions to Camp Maranatha are on their website. From Huntsville, take U.S. 72 East, turn South onto County Road 114 before crossing the bridge (North Sauty Causeway). Continue 3 miles and cross Alabama 79 at stop sign onto County Road 76. Bear left and follow the blacktop road one mile to Maranatha’s entrance.

Viewing is free, but reservations are required for attendance. Camp Maranatha has Lakeside rooms available for $60 and Hogans for $40 which includes a breakfast of juice, coffee, pastries, and fruit. Camp Maranatha information and reservations at 256-574-4539 or www.maranatha.camp (that's C A M P, not dot com!)

[Judi Lynn]

2. Watch Live Now! Geminid Meteor Shower Livestream from NASA

By Space.com Staff | December 13, 2017 06:19pm ET

NASA is livestreaming views of the Geminid meteor shower from the Automated Lunar and Meteor Observatory at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama tonight and you can watch it here, courtesy of NASA. You can also watch them in the window below later this evening, at 9:30 p.m. EST (0230 GMT on Dec. 14) when meteor rates are higher, courtesy of NASA TV. (Refresh this page if the video above is not showing the webcast.)

From NASA:

"The shower will peak overnight Dec. 13-14 with rates around one per minute under good conditions, according to Cooke. Geminids can be seen on nights before and after the Dec. 14 peak, although they will appear less frequently.

"'Geminid activity is broad,' said Cooke. 'Good rates will be seen between 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 13 and dawn local time the morning of Dec. 14, with the most meteors visible from midnight to 4 a.m. on Dec. 14, when the radiant is highest in the sky.'

NASA held a Facebook live Tuesday night (Dec. 12) to discuss the 2017 Geminids. Watch it here:  

https://www.space.com/19195-night-sky-planets-asteroids-webcasts.html?utm_source=notification

[Canoe52]

3. Thanks for posting! Its peak time for me right now so going

to pop out and have a look-see!