Final Meteor Shower of 2012

Get ready for the final meteor shower of the year.

Stargazers look directly up tonight around 1am to see the peak of a spectacular meteor light show originating from the Comet 3200 Phaethon in the constellation Gemini (looking south, almost overhead) with peak activity occurring the night of December 13-14, 2012  between 1-3am with approximately 50 or more meteors per hour on a clear evening.

Why is 2012 special? 
There no moon to ruin the show in 2012 making it a very favorable year for watching this meteor shower.

>> Our best tip? Get as far away from city lights as you can for best viewing and give your eyes about 20 minutes to adjust to the darkness.

Earth Sky Says….
The final major meteor shower of every year (unless one surprises us!) is always the December Geminid shower, often producing 50 or more meteors per hour. Best of all, the new moon guarantees a dark sky on the peak night of the Geminid shower (mid-evening December 13 until dawn December 14). But the nights on either side of the peak date should be good as well.

Unlike many meteor showers, you can start watching the Geminids by 9 or 10 p.m. local time. The peak might be around 2 a.m. local time on these nights, because that’s when the shower’s radiant point is highest in the sky as seen around the world. With no moon to ruin the show, 2012 presents a most favorable year for watching the grand finale of the meteor showers. Best viewing of the Geminids will probably be from about 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. on December 14.