Geminid meteor shower will brighten skies on December 13 and 14
The Geminid meteor shower, one of the most intense annual showers that can be observed in the northern hemisphere, will peak on the night of December 13 to December 14 this year.
With the moon on the wane, fewer meteor streaks will be overpowered by its light. With a peak rate of about one meteor a minute this year, according to NASA, it should still make for a good light show.
Complicating matters somewhat for Bulgaria, the weather forecast has cloudy conditions in the west of the country, including capital Sofia, on December 13, but conditions in Plovdiv and the east of the country should be much better.
For Sofia, the night of November 14, when there would be clearer skies, would offer better conditions to observe the meteor shower.
And if not, NASA plans to livestream the meteor shower from its Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama (though keep in mind the seven-hour time difference).
Unlike the better-known Perseids (July-August) or Leonids (November), the Geminids are a relatively young meteor shower, with the first reports occuring in the 1830′s citing rates of about 20 per hour, according to NASA.
The Geminids, named so because the meteors appear from the middle of the Gemini constellation, are debris left in its wake by asteroid 3200 Phaethon.
(Photo by kevlewis/flickr.com)
