If the current warm weather continues, you may be able to enjoy the annual Geminid Meteor Shower and not even get too cold. Stargazers of all ages can look forward to the Geminids, which peak on the night of December 13/14 (Sunday night/Monday morning).

The Geminids are one of the three annual meteor showers with the highest annual peak meteor rates: the Perseids (August) and the Quadrantids (January) being the other two. At its peak, the shower may generate up to 80 meteors an hour (most people will see fewer due to local haze and light pollution). Find a dark location, grab a lawn chair or blanket, warm clothes, and some munchies and you're ready to go. Sunset occurs just after 5 PM and the waning crescent Moon will not rise until after 2 AM on the 14th, so moonlight is not a problem until then. Remember, despite the current balmy weather, December night observing can be one of the coldest things you can do, because you are just standing around, not being very active - so go prepared.

For this special event the Morehead Planetarium, CHAOS (Chapel Hill Astronomical & Observational Society), and the North Carolina Parks & Recreation department at Jordan Lake will host a free, public Meteor Watch on the shores of Jordan Lake, Sunday evening, December 13, from 6:30-8:30 PM, weather permitting. The session will be held at the Ebenezer Church Road Recreation Area and will offer an excellent opportunity to ask questions and learn about what you see while enjoying the view with others. Ebenezer Church Recreation Area is located on SR1008, two miles south of US 64 (turn south off of US 64 at the last light just east of Jordan Lake). Star charts will be provided. IN THE EVENT OF CLOUDY SKIES OR WORSE, THE OBSERVING SESSION WILL NOT BE HELD.

Meteor showers are usually best seen after midnight because at that time the night side of Earth is turned so that oncoming meteors hit "head-on," just as the front windshield of a car catches the greatest force of rain when driving down the highway. However, the Geminids are one of the exceptions to the rule, as this meteor shower is very good before midnight also. The best place to view any meteor is from a dark site away from city lights. The "shooting stars" will appear to radiate from the constellation Gemini. However, you do not need to be able to locate Gemini. Just face a generally northeast direction and try use peripheral vision over as much of the entire sky as possible. Telescopes and binoculars will not be helpful because they scan such a tiny area of the sky that users would miss most, if not all, of the action. "Although there is no possibility of a meteor storm like the Leonids of November," said Dr. Lee Shapiro, Director of the Morehead Planetarium, "The Geminids provide a very reliable shower and I expect if the weather cooperates, that most people in this area will see considerably more meteors than they saw during the Leonids last month."

The Geminids are unusual, in that unlike most meteor showers, they are associated with an asteroid, 3200 Phaethon, rather than a comet. This asteroid, believed to be the source of the Geminid meteoroids, is an Apollo asteroid, which means its orbit comes inside the orbit of the Earth. The Geminid meteor particles tend to be of greater density than other traditional cometary meteor showers, confirming that they are likely fragments of a minor planet (asteroid) rather than lighter cometary debris. In either case, they plunge through the Earth's atmosphere at speeds averaging 65,000 mph! Friction heats them to white-hot temperatures creating a streak of light.