Geminid Meteor Shower

Have you ever bundled up to watch a meteor shower at night? It’s trickier in the winter just because of the temperature, but no less doable!

Shooting stars are the result of either the Earth passing through a debris field in space, causing a whole bunch of stars (the “shower” of shooting stars) or just random meteors burning up in our atmosphere, which you might happen to catch any time of the year.

The Gemind meteor showers are caused by the Earth traveling through the path of a comet. Because of this, there’s a chance to see up to 50 or more shooting stars in an hour!

Peak shooting stars will be on the night of Sunday, December 13-14, though you can see some Friday and Saturday night too. Cross your fingers for a cloudless night, and then:

• Go out around 2 am (or later)

• Look towards the east (where the sun rises)

• Give your eyes time to adjust (about 20 minutes - bundle up!)

• Hang out as long as you can! (Bring along a chair, lots of blankets, some warm drinks and snacks. Just keep your eyes to the sky.)

• You can try to go out earlier in the night - there will be meteors, but they are more sporadic.

• However, earlier in the night is when you might see an Earthgrazer (new word for me!) An Earthgrazer is a slow-moving meteor that leaves a long trail horizontally across the sky.

• And of course, the darker the sky, the better. But, it’s the experience you’ll remember, right?

Pair your experience by reading “Meteor” by Patricia Polacco, and talk with kids about the difference between shooting stars that burn up in the atmosphere (meteors) and ones that hit the ground (like in the book) which are called meteorites. What would they do if they saw a shooting star and then found a meteorite on the ground?