Geminid Meteor Shower 2013: Peak Time Tonight, Watch Live December 13
Stargazers can look to the sky tonight for the peak of the Geminid meteor shower.
For those unable to make it out into the cold darkness, both the Slooh Community Observatory and NASA will have live online coverage (see the links below).
Active from Dec. 12 to Dec. 16, the meteor shower can be seen worldwide. However, the celestial affair hits its prime during the dark hours from Dec. 13 to Dec. 14 with anywhere from 90 to 120 meteors per hour, according to NBC.
Although the true peak between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. ET (06:00-07:00 UTC), according to Slate, the 'Magic Hour' for viewing will be at 4 a.m. ET.
"There is a 'magic hour' of good visibility just before dawn on Saturday the 14th," said Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office, according to NASA Science News. "The moon sets around 4 AM. The dark time between 4 AM and sunrise is a great time for meteor watching."
While the meteors get their name because they seem to originate from the Gemini constellation, Cooke urges viewers to look at the whole sky and not just focus on one particular point.
"The best thing to do to observe meteors is to lie flat on your back and look straight up," Cooke said, according to NBC. "You don't want to look at Gemini, you just want to look straight up and take in as much of the sky as possible because meteors can appear anywhere in the sky and the more sky you see, the better you chance of seeing a meteor."
The annual December event takes place when Earth travels through the debris left by the comet 3200 Phaethon. Classified as a 'rock comet,' 3200 Phaethon passes by the sun ever 1.4 years and, according to NASA Science News, the heat scorches debris off the body of the comet.
Slooh Community Observatory will broadcast a live stream with commentary from the Canary Islands from 5:30 p.m. ET to 1 a.m. ET. However, the Canary Islands are currently experiencing cloudy weather as of 5:30 p.m. ET but viewers should check back periodically to see if the storm blows over.
Meanwhile, NASA will host a live web chat with live images of the sky over the Marshall Space Flight Center from 11 p.m. ET to 3 a.m. ET that can bee seen here.
