The "Magic Hour" for Geminid Meteors
 
Dec. 13, 2013:  As arctic air and record cold sweeps across the USA, amateur
astronomers are looking at their calendars with a degree of trepidation. A
date is circled: Dec. 14th. And below it says: "Wake up at 4 AM for the
Geminid meteor shower."
 
"It's going to be cold," says Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment
Office. "But that is the best time to see the 2013 Geminid meteor shower."
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kvpe1Qg7Ak
 
A new ScienceCast video previews the 2013 Geminid meteor shower.  Play it
 
Geminids appear every year in mid-December when Earth passed through a stream
of debris from "rock comet" 3200 Phaethon.  Typically more than 100 meteors
per hour stream out of the radiant in the constellation Gemini.when the shower
peaks on Dec. 13th and 14th.
 
There is a problem, however. This year a nearly full Moon will reduce the
number of visible meteors 2 to 3 fold.  Most of the shower's peak will suffer
from lunar glare. Most, but not all.
 
"There is a 'magic hour' of good visibility just before dawn on Saturday the
14th," says Cooke. "The moon sets around 4 AM. The dark time between 4 AM and
sunrise is a great time for meteor watching."
 
On Friday the 13th, Cooke will host a live web chat about the Geminids. He and
colleagues Danielle Moser and Rhiannon Blaauw from the Meteoroid Environment
Office will be on hand to answer questions from 11 p.m. until 3 a.m. EST. 
They will also be broadcasting live images of the sky over the Marshall Space
Flight Center.  Cooke expects to see dozens of Geminids during the broadcast.
 
"The Geminid meteor shower is the most intense meteor shower of the year,"
notes Cooke. "It is rich in fireballs and can be seen from almost any point on
Earth. Even a bright moon won't completely spoil the show."
 
Moreover, the debris stream from rock comet 3200 Phaethon is broad, so the
shower is fairly active all the way from Dec. 12th through 16th.  "If you miss
the magic hour on Saturday morning, try looking on one of the adjacent
nights," Cooke urges.
 
Whichever night you chose, the Geminids are going to be cold.  Bundle up and
enjoy the show.
 
Credits:
Author: Dr. Tony Phillips | Production editor: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit:
Science@NASA
 
More information:
 
Rock Comet Sprouts a Tail -- Science@NASA
 
NASA Geminids Web Chat -- nasa.gov
http://www.nasa.gov/connect/chat/geminids_2013.html
 
 
Regards,
 
Roger

--- D'Bridge 3.96
 * Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna (1:3828/7)