If you’re into stargazing, you won’t want to miss the peak of the Geminid meteor shower on Wednesday night.
How to watch meteor showers
For best viewing, visit between 10pm on Wednesday and 3am on Thursday. The best time to see meteors is around 2 am when Gemini is at its highest point in the sky.
Geminids can produce up to 120 shooting stars per hour.
Clouds and moonlight, things that usually spoil a meteor shower, won’t be a problem this year. Mostly clear skies are forecast for Wednesday evening, with clear skies continuing until sunrise at 2 a.m. peak viewing time.
See more meteors
- The longer you look, the more you will see. There may be periods of quiet followed by two or three meteors per minute. Be patient and…
- Wear bodhi. Temperatures will be in the 20s and 30s.
- Give your eyes at least 15 minutes to adjust. You’d be surprised how many more stars you know. Leave your phone inside too. Each time you look at it, a timer will start to regain your night vision.
- Look at the darkest part of the sky. It may not be east towards the constellation Gemini. That’s okay, meteors can appear anywhere in the sky.
- Before the meteors are visible by 10 p.m., many of the meteors will be hidden below the horizon as Gemini rises.
Of course, light pollution can affect how much you can see, so the best location is far away from city lights. The good news is that the moon will be almost new, so it will be less bright, allowing for better viewing of the shooting star scene.
Our skies should be clear Wednesday night, but it will also be cold. If you plan to go out to see the meteor shower, make sure to bundle up.
Copyright 2023 Capital Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
