Meteor Shower this Saturday (December 13th)

 

What can you expect to see at the Community Observatory this weekend?

We saw the stars last night for the first time in two weeks. While it was foggy below, our higher elevation had clear skies. We are hoping that excellent views will continue for the next two weekends. Be sure to check our website (communityobservatory.com) to make sure we will be open before you head up the hill.

There are some exciting things to see in the sky right now. Jupiter with its four prominent moons is finally visible. Saturn continues to be awesome. The Taurus constellation with the Pleiades star cluster is easily visible and Orion with its best-in-class nebulas will be visible later during this weekend’s public viewing sessions.

The big excitement this weekend is the meteor shower that peaks on Saturday night and Sunday Morning, The Geminid Meteor Shower is often the best one of the year. It can produce more than two meteors per minute under ideal conditions. Ideal conditions include a very dark location like Death Valley and a moonless sky. Our conditions will be less than optimum, our skies are only moderately dark and the moon doesn’t rise until after 1 AM. I would expect us to see, perhaps, one meteor per minute at its peak around midnight but we should see some throughout the night.

The Geminid Meteor Shower is unusual because most other major meteor showers are caused by debris left behind by comets, which are icy bodies that shed material as they approach the Sun. This shower’s source is the asteroid 3200 Phaethon. Which is a rocky body between 3.2 and 3.9 miles in diameter that orbits the Sun every 524 days. Even though it is rocky rather than icy, it has a trail of debris that may have been caused by a collision with another body in the past. Its perihelion, closest point to the Sun, is closer than the orbit of Mercury and its aphelion is beyond the orbit of Mars. That close pass may cause the asteroid to shed additional debris. The meteors themselves are relatively bright and slow. They are often yellowish in color but can be other colors as well.

So, how do you prepare to see a winter meteor storm? It was 36° last night and clear skies are often cold ones. Heavy coats, gloves, and knit caps are recommended. You may want to bring a blanket or sleeping bag. It may be suitable to bring a thermos containing hot chocolate. You are welcome to set up camp chairs on our tarmac. The best instrument for watching comets is your eyes. You won't need binoculars or a telescope.

Please monitor our website (with a link to this blog) or Facebook for the latest information and for possible weather closures.