Geminid Meteor Shower 2012: Where to Best View and How to Watch Online
Sky-gazers can still catch an amazing view of the 2012 Geminid meteor shower. Traces of the meteor shower will be visible this afternoon at about 2 p.m. (AEDT) while its peak is expected to occur once again at approximately 6 p.m. (AEDT).
Around 60 to 120 meteors will be seen lighting the dark skies during the Geminid meteor shower peak. The best view would be some place with a wide open sky away from the city lights. "With no moon to ruin the show, 2012 presents a most favorable year for watching the grand finale of the meteor showers," Earthsky reports.
Joe Rao of Hayden Planetarium stated the Geminid meteor shower is always one of the best sky-gazing experiences. This year, the meteor shower may give a more spectacular show since the moon is at new phase meaning the moonlight will not grab the attention of spectators.
The 2012 Geminid meteor shower can be best viewed in numerous locations provided with a dark sky such as the backyard, the deck or even on the side of a road. Make sure to put on warm clothing and bring and extra blanket. Sitting on a reclining lawn chair with a Thermos of hot beverage and binoculars is perfect for gazing the dark skies to catch the Geminid meteor shower.
Also, the Geminid meteor shower will be shown through a live Ustream feed on the web site of NASA meteor experts: http://www.nasa.gov/connect/chat/geminids2012.html. The camera is located at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
So what exactly makes the Geminid meteor shower exciting to watch? Joe Rao explained the Geminids are much slower compared to the other meteors like the Perseid. He described that the Geminids look like little mice running with tiny steps across the dark sky. Rao also revealed there is a possibility of another appearance tonight from an unidentified meteor shower which will make this phenomenon even more remarkable.