The Sky Is Falling!
If you've got a few holiday wishes, tomorrow may be your night. What could be the best meteor display of the year will reach its peak Thursday night, and there will be plenty of falling stars to wish upon.
The Geminids are an annual meteor shower, named after the constellation of Gemini. The meteors appear to originate from a spot in the sky near the constellation twins. Tomorrow night, any time after 10:00 p.m. until dawn on Friday, look southward for the two bright stars that form the heads of the twins. (Mars, a small red dot in the sky, should be in the area as well.) The crescent moon will have already set by then, so its light will not interfere with any stargazing.
Of course, I suggest driving out to the suburbs (or even the lake) and away from the bright streetlights for the best view. However, even in the city, you can still observe brighter meteors streaking through the night sky. The Geminids travel relatively fast (22 miles per second, 35 kmps) and leave bright trails, usually yellow or silver and sometimes even blue or green. The entire planet is passing through the stream of meteors so it's not necessary to look in just one direction either. These meteors can be seen just about anywhere in the sky. I've even heard that if you're in a nice quiet spot, you can actually hear the meteors crackle and pop as they burn. The best part of it all though is that you don't need any fancy equipment to see these 'falling stars.'
You will need patience and some warm beverages though. The Chicago forecast for tomorrow night is partly cloudy with lows at around 20'F (-7C), so if you plan on being outside for a long time, bundle up!
Photo credit: Wikipedia (1, 2), jeffsmallwood
Tags: astronomy, chicago, gemini, geminid, hobbies, meteor-shower, meteorsRelated Stories
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