LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Do stars really “shoot” across the night sky?
They don’t, but meteors do! And December has a great meteor show in store for you.
The evening and early morning of Dec. 13 and 14 features the Geminids meteor shower. With no interference from the moon, this promises to be one of the year’s best!
Grab a comfortable lawn chair, dress in warm clothing, find a dark location, lean back and enjoy the show.
You can view the shower most any time it gets dark, but the most meteors can be seen in the wee hours of the morning (around 2 a.m.).
You don’t need to look at any specific part of the sky. In fact, you can spend time exploring December’s constellations while waiting for a streaking meteor to appear.
The Geminids occur when the earth passes through debris left in the orbit of an asteroid named 3200 Phaeton.
As small chunks of debris enter the earth’s atmosphere, they burn up as they streak across the sky. It’s no wonder they are sometimes called shooting stars.
John Zimmerman is a resident of Lake County and has been an amateur astronomer for over 50 years. For more information about Astronomy and local resources, visit his Web site at www.lakecountyskies.com .